Requiem fur Zwei Welten
by Themulchmeister
Summary: The final intallment of the Two Worlds trilogy. In a post apocalyptic world, horned beasts roam the sands while corrupt warlords keep humanity on the fringe of existance. Only one girl with the help of a few allies can end the chaos.
1. Ein gehörnter Engel

_**Requiem für Zwei Welten (Requiem for Two Worlds)**_

Greetings to fans of my Two Worlds series. This will be the third and final instalment. If you haven't already, please read _Gerrissen durch Zwei Welten _and _Apokalypse von Zwei Welten _as they were the two previous instalments. However if you are too lazy to do so its okay as most of this first chapter is a sort of recap anyways. Warning for lots more blood, gore, vectors, nipples and all the things you like. Now let's begin the requiem for the two worlds...

_Verse 1_

_A lady of pure...a lady of death...a lady of persecution...a lady of misanthropy..._

_Lucy...the bringer of destruction to the human race...her blood spreads the disease of Diclonius...the human race will be bred out...torn to pieces by their handicraft - their witchcraft...it is the web of manipulation and torment..._

_Lucy and her kind know only pain...they serve only to kill and reproduce...survival of the fittest...man had once strived to dominate their planet...Lucy unlocked the Pandora's box...the weakness of man...their folly lay in their apathy and ignorance..._

_Lucy...scourge of all things vice...brought into an unforgiving world...she had tried to assimilate...tried to accept her differences...humans can be so cruel...whatever hope she had to spare their lives was lost...until she met a boy she could truly trust..._

_His name was Kouta...he was the suppressor of the goddess of destruction...if only he knew of her power...when he betrayed her his own world fell apart...his closest family shredded and butchered..._

_"Please stop the violence" he would say...It was useless...nothing could stop this monster now...She had to be kept in chains...it was for her won good the experts would say..._

_Experimented on...vials of strange substances injected directly into her soft veins...heavy projectiles blasted at her fragile head...these tests were essential for advancing mankind apparently...one day she could no longer take the torture and degradation...she was after all, a queen of her species...and queens don't live in slavery..._

_Nothing was to hinder her search for freedom...humans had treated her worse than an animal...they were just old ragdolls to her...to be pulled apart, twisted and distorted...one man in particular represented everything she loathed about humanity...he was not be killed by her...but destroyed..._

_"How does it feel to lose those around you?" She would taunt this man frequently...and so a cat-and-mouse game begun between the saviour of mankind and the cancer of mankind..._

_Hundreds, if not thousands of innocent souls were caught in her deadly vectors...in the end, her death was little celebration to anyone...Kouta and the others of the Maple Inn mourned there cheery little friend they knew as 'Nyu'...The last surviving Diclonius - Nana - was saddened by her queens passing but also of the loss of Kurama, the one she knew and loved as 'Papa'._

_One chapter had been read and a new one was unfolded...Lucy had died in a sense only to be resurrected right into her nightmare...the tubes, the needles, the buckles and straps, she was surrounded again...with little space to move or breathe...not even a goddess of death deserved such treatment..._

_And yet she received such treatment in the afterlife...in what was supposed to be a heaven...the hypocrisy of the heaven known as Soul Society was soon revealed...They were no better then the pathetic humans from her past life...She had to unleash her vengeance..._

_The captivators were much stronger here...they wielded strange swords instead of guns and rifles...you would think this would be easier but they radiated a strange aura she had not experienced in the human realm..._

_A man who resembled more an alien than a human faced her...this being called a Shinigami resonated a threatening aura...she would treat her captor the same way as her previous one...Her next task was to return to the human realm she once knew..._

_She was free from the hellish heavens but her struggle was not over...the return to Earth was treacherous...almost facing death from the cleaner of reason...she appeared as a falling angel...only to be discovered by another boy...a fiery-haired boy named Ichigo..._

_She recalled what she once said to Kouta in her childhood...that if she were to kill a lot of people, she would need him to kill her...A confliction between two conscious' led to the conception of a child like personality...the one named Nyu...Ichigo would learn to love this simple yet humble lady who seemingly fell from the sky...Of course this didn't come without heartbreak...his raven-haired companion named Rukia grew jealous of this strange girl...she was also of the Shinigami species...Ichigo was part human and Shinigami and owed his life to her and hers she owed to him..._

_Alas this was not to be the worst of their troubles...corrupt forces from the heavens - Soul Society were after Lucy...even if she returned as a corpse..._

_Even the mightiest of warriors such as the feared Kenpachi, were not able to stand up against her deadly bodily weapon...this was not only a part of her body...but now a part of her soul...she had become more powerful than she could ever imagine...The Demon Blade within her concious tapped into her soul...Muramusa would offer her extra strength in exchange for habitation - he was soon to be seen as a mere parasite._

_Kurama and his subordinates were to revive the bitter conflict as Shinigami. His brutish henchman Bando was to capture the goddess of death...he had attained supernatural powers beyond any mortal's comprehension...a magical sword known as a Zanpakuto...with tha ability to morph his blade into a fragment of his soul...apathy...however Lucy knew this to be the folly of man and sealed his fate through defeat once again..._

_A devastated Ichigo was now faced with the dilemma of maintaining the duty of a Shinigami and protecting the one he loves from Soul Society..._

_Strangely thorough the turn of events the tormentor from the human realm would become an awkward ally with this goddess of destruction...A new even greater threat was unfolding...if it wasn't the awakening of dozens of Diclonius in the heavens, or the plague of menace ravaging the Earth, then it was to be his own daughter whom he abandoned as a child, one of the most sadistic for her kind...she had returned to her hometown with a stronger lust for blood than ever...and yet she was only a child..._

_Mariko would appear now as a more urgent threat than the former queen...The strongest Shinigami were dispatched to defeat this stubborn child Diclonius...however with the assistance of Muramusa's power, was able to take on the thirteen pillars of Soul Society..._

_...All that remained was the formal queen...she was ready to be abdicated from the throne without a bloody fight...the two goddesses lit up the sky in a brilliant display...the victor would soon turn out top be the true queen - Lucy...she had proven useful to the heavens...but blood never changes flow...and her true nature was quickly revived when reunited with her alien captor - Mayuri Kurotsuchi_

_The blood of souls was to be spilled across the small town of Kamakura...only one boy was able to stop her...but would it be Kouta or Ichigo?_

_Lucy had reached an epiphany...as long as she remained alive in some form more blood would be shed and more souls would perish...she requested her two lovers to do what she could not...end her life...for good..._

_This was to be the end of years of torment...years of grief and years of bitterness...however it seemed her grief was so grand her soul separated into three entities: the first one as a child, who would soon be conceived by Rukia and known as Nyu; the second one as a human, whom managed to befriend Ichigo and known as Kaede; and finally the third one, whom preserved her instinct to kill and was solely created on that basis, she would forever remain as Lucy..._

_What was the significance of these three? It is told that as thirds of her spirit they lack the full extent of her form were power...yet strangely it is said that one of these three entities has a spiritual sense far superior to any of the other two and overpowers even the former queen herself...If these three were to be reunited it would surely spell the end of the world..._

_...Though in reality...the apocalypse had already occurred long ago..._

* * *

IN A BARREN AND BESTIAL WORLD

She was running from the monsters. She screamed for someone to save her but noone was there. All that remained before her was infinite desert plains. A blizzard of sand cut into her flesh, tattering her ragged clothing and making her tense in pain. However now was not the time for trivial matters.

"GGGRRRAAAOOOWWW."

"KYAH! GET AWAY!" She swatted her small arms and returned to her desperate escape. It was no use. No matter how hard her heart beat and no matter how much adrenaline flowed through her veins, her small frame was unable to escape from this predator that feasted on humans.

Eventually fatigue beat her and she tripped onto the hard sand. She tried to crawl away but the monster crept evermore closer, drooling warm saliva on her body. Its breath reeked of rotting meat and the force felt like a small gale. She flinched as it caressed her smooth, supple flesh.

"Please...don't...eat...me..." She wheezed with each word.

The monster simply growled like a ravenous terrier on response. This young child was to become a tasty treat for a long hard pursuit.

As it closed it's jaws they seemingly locked in position. An explosion erupted near the side of its lower jaw, breaking off a large chunk of flesh.

"GGRRRAAAGGHHH!" The beast swayed in spasmodic rhythm as it cried in pain. The monster bashed the ground around him with ferocious tentacles. They seemed to glisten in the rising sun, appearing as crystals, but were a fatal attraction.

As the girl stared into death alley her saviour finally appeared in a long flowing trenchcoat. An older girl with short white hair; a stark contrast to her plain, long, black hair. She adorned a white headband and carried a small rifle in one hand – her left and a wakizashi in the other –her right.

"H-h-have you c-c-come t-to s-save me?" The young girl stuttered in fear.

The white angel turned her head slightly to reveal a simple expressionless face with blood red eyes. A long bang of white hair draped over her forehead and danced in the breeze.

"LOOK OUT!" The young girl cried as she pointed to the charging monster.

The mysterious girl leapt several metres into the air, performing three frontflips in the process. She saddled onto the beast's back and stabbed her blade down it's spinal column.

"GACKGRAAAGGGHHH!" The tortured beast writhed in extreme pain before collapsing to the ground. The tentacles swung furiously in circles. She had to end this quickly. Raising her rifle to the beasts temple, she fired on heavy round directly into the ivory skull. White fragments of bone and purple brain matter rained over the battlefield.

The young girl was too terrified to speak and shivered in her simple clothing. The white angel threw her trenchcoat to the poor girl, revealing a slim pale figure in a white vest and shorts. The long white boots asserted she was not to be messed with.

Finally she spoke, "Let's go child."

The child squeezed her saviour's arm. "Wait where are we going? Who are you?"

The saviour flicked back the bang in her hair, "I can't quite tell you where I'm going but I'll give you my name...It's Kurosaki...Nyu Kurosaki..."

* * *

Enough said really. There you have the first chapter...How did you like my little poem recap thing? Don't miss the next exciting chapter


	2. Einer von ihnen

_Verse 2_

_The horned angel descends..._

Nyu Kurosaki had some more monsters to deal with further down the plains. She would guide this child to a place she knew was safe and then continue her ultimate mission.

The long walk soon became too awkward and someone had to utter some words. "Um...so who exactly are you?"

Nyu seemed a but peeved but answered her question. "I am a person assigned to restore peace in this land."

"Good luck..." The girl responded sarcastically. "It has been like this for as long as I can remember – actually come to think of it..." She raised her finger to her mouth appearing dumbfounded. "...I can't really remember anything..."

Nyu's eyes widened slightly but she maintained a look of indifference.

"...I am just so grateful you saved me from that strange horned monster...I hate horns..."

She must have struck a bad chord with Nyu as she stopped in her tracks making the other girl bump into her. "HEY!" She shouted at Nyu but she did not respond, opting to remain in a rigid stance. "What's the matter? Why did we stop?"

Nyu's pupils danced around as she formed her hands around her two weapons. She whispered to the girl. "...I would run if I were you."

She had no time to react and was swept off her feet by another of the horned monsters. This one appeared as a giant ogre with an oval mask shielding its otherwise grotesque face.

"Look out NYU!" she cried to her friend but Nyu was already on the move. She seemingly flew around the beast, making it disoriented and dizzy before climbing onto its back and going for the spinal chord.

The ogre was not going to allow her off easy and raised its elbows in an effort to knock her off. She almost fell but managed to stab her small sword into its left shoulderblade. The beast only became more aggressive and swung it's arms erratically trying to swat the small pink haired girl off. She gritted her teeth and tried embedding the sword further into the bone but it was no use. The ogre released her with one large heave of it's body, Nyu dropping her valuable weapons in the process. Nyu seemed to freeze whilst in mid air. Blood gushed from several holes in her body.

"NYU!"

"HEHEHEHEHEH I got you now..." The beast spoke in a typical ogre sounding manner.

"Ungh." Nyu struggled as she remained paralysed in the air. She was struggling to breathe. The girl with long black hair was terrified.

_She's choking? But nothing is there to choke her...it doesn't make any sense._

"So you must be Nyu..." The monster spoke again. "You've been killing quite a lot of our kind...how can you side with those pathetic humans? Oh well I'll sort you out – BY TEARING YOU IN TWO!"

"Fat chance ogre..." Nyu somehow retrieved her rifle from the ground, the shot hit dead square on the beast's mask, shattering it into millions of pieces. A truly abhorrent face was revealed behind the mask. Tusks and blue folds of skin took up the majority of the mangled assortment of tissue that was his face. "I shouldn't have shot away your mask, it was there for a good reason.

"YOU BITCH!" The monster blindly charged towards Nyu in a berserk rage. Nyu was composed enough to raise her sword and emerge from the other side of the creature. No-one saw what exactly happened, it was too quick to be interpreted by normal vision.

"I side with the humans...because I'm better than a disgusting hollow."

The ogre gasped in shock before it's body separated in two. Blood spurted from the middle like an exploding watermelon.

"Nyu are you alright!" She gasped. "You're bleeding!"

"Relax...I'm...alright..." She claimed before she dozed off.

Nyu woke up to be surrounded in a blue aura. She was in a small, abandoned hut and was surprised to discover the majority of her wounds had been healed.

The girl she had rescued earlier was sitting opposite her and cheekily smiled when she saw her wake up.

"Did...you do this...to me?" She said amazed at her healing ability.

"Uh...huh...It took me a few hours but I hope it made a difference..." She blushed when she realised something important. "I haven't given you my name yet Nyu, how rude of me."

"It's alright I really don't care..." She was stopped by a comforting hand.

"My name's Ren Su..."

"Thanks for healing me then Ren Su." She said humbly.

"That's okay." Ren chirped.

Nyu sat up and scanned the area for more of the monsters. Ren assured her that all the horned freaks were gone for now/. This sparked anger in Nyu who stared daggers at Ren.

"Oh um...what's the matter?" Ren said confused.

"Maybe I should show you something important before we continue." Nyu grabbed the tail of her head band as it flowed in the breeze. With one swift tug she was able to remove the headband and reveal her true identity. Ren gasped as she noticed the two distinct bone structures protruding from her head.

"So...y-you're-"

"That's right...I'm one of those _horned freaks_."


	3. Pest Ausrottung

_Verse 3_

_The horned angel reveals her true form_

_shock and despair enters the realm of chaos._

_We do not choose our appearance yet we can choose our own destiny_

_...at least we try to..._

"I'm...sorry..." Ren Su apologised whilst stuttering. "I didn't really mean any of that."

"Never mind...let's just keep moving..." Nyu sighed and hauled herself up. Ren's mysterious healing abilities had led to her rapid recovery, however as a Diclonius Nyu had some natural resilience of her own.

A sandstorm seemed to cut the earth from nowhere and made navigation almost impossible. Ren held onto Nyu's tight clothing s she couldn't see – rather she feared the blistering sand would cut away the soft flesh of her eyes.

"I know how to relive us of this sand." Nyu claimed. Ren was surprised to no longer feel a thousand tiny cuts to her skin.

"How did you do that?" She wondered.

"I have special arms that reach out from my body..." She proved this by curving her vectors into a force field. The sand seeped through her fanned vector hands leaving the moulded shape of what appeared to be transparent arms.

"WOW!" Ren was easily amazed (though she was only a child).

The fun was only brief as a giant sand crab emerged from the storm. The giant crab monster had armoured segments and horns that resembled mandibles.

"Shit..." Nyu stepped in front of Ren to protect her. She drew her sword ready to fight. "This seafood's off the menu..."

"GRRAAAAGGGHHH!" The monster hollow raised a jet of abrasive sand as Nyu tried to advance. She covered her face to prevent the sand from skinning her alive.

"Be careful Nyu!" Ren shouted from a distance. She curled up in her trench coat to avoid the worst of the sandstorm.

Nyu side stepped and cut away at one of the hollow's legs. It had no effect, instead the crab counter-attacked by kicking her back. Nyu was able to use her vectors to keep her in air and allow her to eventually land on her feet. Ren could see the beautiful arms move her body like a puppet on strings. She weaved and ducked each pincer attack and finally found a weak spot, cutting at the flesh between each segment.

"GRAAAGGGGHHH!" The giant crab cried as it lost a pincer. It retaliated by sweeping up more high-velocity sand. Nyu made a force field with her vectors but the grainy particles still managed to pluck at her flesh like tiny swords. She leapt several metres into the air to avoid the creatures pincer attack but as she got closer she was thrown back by a sneaky blast of sand.

"Nyu!"

Nyu's eyes were too sore to see properly. She could only make out the giant white blob which seemed to grow larger and larger. It was getting close. She managed to dodge a potentially fatal pincer attack at the last millisecond. She performed a backflip and produced her rifle but missed terribly.

"Nyu what are you doing?" Ren called out to her. "The monster's right there how can you miss?"

"REN! I NEED YOUR ASSISSTANCE!"

Ren gulped at the thought of going an inch closer to the battle however her life was in this strange girl's hands. "Um...okay!"

Nyu communicated with her assistant whilst she desperately dodged more pincers and sand jets. "I WANT TO LINE THE SHOT FOR HIS TEMPLE...YOU'RE MY EYES SO TELL ME WHEN I'M DEAD ON TWELVE GOT IT"

"YES!" Ren crawled along the sand bed to gain a vantage point. Nyu rolled to the side several times trying to reach a position where she could strike the temple.

_Wait a minute...if I distract the monster then she might be side on for the attack..._.She shivered at the thought of actually volunteering for fish bait but it was the only way. Nyu had been blinded by the sand and needed Ren's help. She could do this...

"HEY BIG CLAWS...OVER HERE..." She tried to draw as much attention as possible. Waving her arms whilst hopping up and down. It did not take long for the monster to find the dangling bait.

_God I hope this works..._ She thought to herself as it shimmied along. Nyu was drawn to the moving sound and raised her rifle.

"SAY WHEN REN..."

The eater of souls was a few metres away from Ren however she could feel it's warm breath and putrid rotten smell. As it drooled and lowered it's mandibles for the feast Ren shouted at the top of her lungs.

"NOW!"

CRACK. The bullet grazed the mask of the hollow, revealing a mutilated mug. Ren held her stomach contents and retreated to a safer distance.

The hollow screamed in fury and broke it's exoskeleton through a freakish transformation. It's horns curled upwards now and it grew twice as many limbs as before. Not that it needed them as it begun using it's powerful vectors to raise the earth.

Nyu was walloped with a swinging vector but managed t6o recover with her own. She knew this creatures vectors were sluggish, they focused more on brute force rather than precision or cutting ability.

If only she could see clearer, victory would be assured.

"REN!" She called out from the sandy blizzard.

"NYU!"

"I NEED YOU HERE NOW!"

Ren searched for the sound but the monster remained between the two girls. How could she possibly make it through?

"KYAH!" She felt a strong gust of air blow against her body. She was being lifted by the updraught, or rather someone was using invisible arms to carry her.

"NYU HELP ME!" Ren screamed until she saw the familiar face. She was placed gently on the ground.

"I'm glad that worked...Now Ren can you please heal my eyes so I can see clearly." Nyu's voice was softer than before but still spelt urgency. Ren placed her palms around Nyu's eyes. The monster was still bashing the ground with it's vectors.

"We have to hurry." Nyu reminded Ren.

"GRRAAAGGHHH!" Craters were forming centimetres from their position. The crude monster was rearing for the final attack.

"OKAY NYU FINISH HIM OFF!"

Nyu could finally see with 20/20 vision. She aimed her initial shots at the ground to stir the creature and make it dazed. The heavy vectors were pounding the ground near her but she was agile and fast enough to evade all of them. She used her vectors to dig into the monsters flesh and climb up to a close position for the shot.

The monster shared sad eyes, almost like a grotesque puppy, before Nyu fired the weapon. The bullet drove through the side of it's head and exited straight through the other side. Nothing was left of the beast except flying brain matter and fragments of bone which rained down on the ground in a splat.

Nyu wiped some of the guts from her top before reaching Ren. "That's pest extermination for ya."


	4. Parteigeistige Zivilisation

_Verse 4_

_The blue skies become stained in red, the green earth carved away_

_replaced with sand that rips the flesh from bone..._

_The monsters roam the plains like wilder-beast in the savannah_

_humanity remains on the fringe of existence..._

As days past the two girls shivered in what was soon becoming a brutally dry winter. Blizzards of sand cut away at their soft flesh instead of the soft snow of the old and prosperous world. Nyu assured her accomplice that they were reaching their destination.

However there was a new obstacle in their path. The figure was obscured by the veil of the sand-blizzard. They captured glimpses of her pale and pink flesh as she strolled closer.

Nyu reached for her sword, she knew this person was a threat.

"Wait!" Ren Su pleaded with Nyu. "She is just like us...right?"

Nyu simply pointed towards the incoming figure whose small protrusions could now be seen above her masked face.

"So she's one of 'them'?"

Before she could respond she rolled out of the way of a slamming strike. Ren could not detect any movement from the naked masked girl but felt a cold breeze form around her neck.

"REN!" Nyu tackled Ren and took the full force of the enemy's vectors.

"NYU!"

"Grr...we must run away!" Nyu tried to ignore her wounds and lifted her friend with her own vectors. She shot a few remaining rounds at the ground to distract the enemy before finding refuge under a trapdoor made of sheet metal.

"She was different to the others." Ren observed.

"She shares the same DNA as those monsters we fought before. She is a much more advanced version of those monsters..." She curses at her weakness. "I can't fight her like this...I'm gonna need to consult with the Hearts Clan."

"Who?"

"There are four warring factions or clans in this new world...they are each named after a deck of cards. We are searching for the Hearts Clan. The others are trouble – especially the Spades Clan."

"Who are they?"

"They are the ones behind all of these monsters, in fact my main mission is to kill the King and Queen of Spades."

SLAM. CRASH. GRIND. The humanoid monster had found their hideout. She removed the sheet metal with ease and lifted her two prey our with her vectors. You could tell she was salivating at the prospect of another meal as wet liquid trickled down the tip of her strange mask. Her eyes consisted of three dark holes which were arranged vertically down the right side of her face. Nyu was too weak to struggle and Ren screamed as death approached.

But then a shot ripped through the sky and the creature collapsed as red soup spilled out of the back of her head. Two small shadows stood firm in the distance. As the light pierced the ground their identities were revealed. One had medium length black hair and wore tight black jeans and a long navy blue shirt with armoured padding around her elbows knees and body. The other was dressed much more lightly with a grey tanktop and black leggings. However the most striking feature about the second girl – other than the pink hair – was the two small horn growing from her head.

One of them shouted gleefully "Hey Nyu! You'll have to show us your new friend back at base."

* * *

The group arrived near a makeshift village on the outskirts of the mountains. Small huts were etched into the rock. Ren smiled when she saw a mother nursing a crying baby. The baby seemingly calmed down and chuckled at Ren. A small civilisation had found solace in this place.

"We of the Hearts clan are the guardians of this village." The black haired girl who introduced herself as Mayu explained. The other girl was known as Nana and reassured them that Ren was in safe hands now.

A bespectacled man greeted the new arrival. "Good day to you. My name is Kurama and I am the sixth of hearts in this clan. I see you've met Nana and Mayu the fifth and ninth of hearts respectively."

Ren was curious about their strange rankings. Kurama explained that the ten strongest warriors of each clan are ranked according to the card numbers, with ten being the weakest up to two with the ace rank for the strongest warrior in each clan.

"I bet Nyu didn't tell you her rank?" Nana stirred trouble.

Kurama continued. "We also have our Jack who's the commander of the army, our joker who specialises in research and development and of course our King and Queen whose roles are self-explanatory."

"Come, we should show you to the King of Hearts." Nana ushered them into a large tent. Contrary to her assumption, Ren was surprised to find the latest in technological equipment surrounding the abode. People in black bulletproof uniforms were locked on the computer screens, all except one of them – a striking young man with blazing orange hair.

"Greetings young traveller...I'm known as the King of Hearts, but you may address me as Kurosaki Ichigo."


	5. Schändliche Menschheit

_Verse 5 _

_The fate of the world has been decided within a game of cards._

_Who has the heart to bring back peace?_

"Welcome to our village." Ichigo stood up and paced the room. The King of Hearts wore an old and tattered kimono around his bulletproof jacket. "I hear that you have some healing powers, we could really use a person like you."

Kurama clicks his spectacles. "Sir it seems the Spades are developing a new breed of Diclonii as we speak."

Ichigo shook his head. "They never cease to reach new levels in their artificial evolution. What is the status of the other clans?"

One of the men sitting at the computer – a scarred face man with spiked black hair, whirled around in urgency. "Sir they're already here!"

"Right." Ichigo produces a small handgun and cocks it into load. "Everyone protect the villagers, Nyu you stay here with Ren."

"But I want to fight!" She pleads.

BOOM. A large explosion could be heard from outside. The officers quickly prepared themselves, donning SWAT gear before charging outside.

Ichigo rests his hand on Ren's shoulder. "You will be needed once this is over, please remain here, we will guard from outside."

Ren nodded. She was very selfless but was still concerned for their own welfare. When she unfurled the tent she could see the horror and barbarism with her very eyes. They pillaged the villagers for everything they had then cut them down mercilessly. This was a raid. Perhaps what disturbed her the most was that the savages were not the monsters she had become familiar with, but monsters that took the appearance of people – humans savaging other humans. What had the world come to?

The Hearts soldiers fought valiantly. Unfortunately one of them, a young man with red hair, was killed.

"JINTA!" A young girl with pigtails cried. She mowed down a whole dozen of the invaders. She became berserk and charged wildly towards the oncoming enemy. Luckily for her one of the senior officers pulled her back.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Sorry Karin but I had to avenge Jinta."

"That's okay, we just can't afford to lose another." She steered her horse into the enemy, slicing them down with a wakizashi.

"Come here guys see of you can beat a girl." Nyu boasted. A spiky haired female comrade jumped to her side.

"No take me on!" She roared.

"Hey Tatsuki are you suggesting some sort of competition?"

"Sure why not!" Tatsuki bared her fists. As the men drew closer she threw a couple of hook punches towards them, taking down three in one blow. She then performed a spinning heel kick to someone's jaw then bounced off someone else's chest before slamming her knee into their gut.

Meanwhile Nyu had no trouble fending off the soldiers. She simply stood their as they fell victim to her invisible fists. They soon learned that she was a Diclonius and produced a strange kind of weapon: a crossbow that fried small spiked balls.

"NYU LOOK OUT!" Tatsuki rushed over to tackle her friend, taking the full brunt of the projectiles. "UUUWAAAGGHH!" She tried to pull them out but they were embedded deep in her flesh.

"Heheheheh Now she's defenceless." One of the men pulls off their mask. "I would like to have my way with her."

"You bastard!" Nyu charged over to slice the man but she only made herself a target of the volley of spiked balls. She writhed in tremendous pain as she too lay helpless on the ground.

"SOMEONE HELP NYU AND TATSUKI!" Ren yelled out through the tent.

Thankfully Ichigo heard and began moving towards their position.

The unmasked man pulled off his gloves and began fondling Tatsuki. "Don't worry darling, unlike the neurotoxin in those spiky thing, this won't hurt as much."

"Why you..." She struggled to speak.

Just as the perverted man was about to pull down his pants his head was blown apart. Ichigo managed to shoot the man point blank and defeat the rest of the small group.

It only took a little longer before the rest of the marauders were driven to retreat. They may have left relatively empty-handed but the village was nearly destroyed. They would be forced to move on from this location, like nomads.

"Ren! We need your help!"

Ren's feet were glued to the floor. Paralysed with a new kind of fear. She had never seen such an ugly aspect of humanity before today.

"Ren! Where are you?" Ichigo called out to no avail.

"It's alright Ichigo, let me help." A petite girl with short fair hair rushed over.

"Yuzu, this is too difficult for you, we need Ren's healing abilities."

Ren took a large gulp and stormed out of the tent. Only instead of running towards her allies, she escaped into the desert plains.

Ichigo tried to call her back. "Wait Ren where are you going? Ren! REN! REN!"

"Why am I doing this? I have to help them...but I'm so scared." Ren tried to reason with herself as she cowered in a small burrow she dug in the chaotic sands.

_Nyu and her comrades are in trouble, and all I could do is watch...I am of no use to them...I would only weigh them down anyway..._

She heard the crunch of several large footsteps outside. She huddled tight hoping the crunching noise would soon go away, but it only became louder and louder.

The light and sand pierced pierced her eyes as the burrow was excavated and opened to the outside world.

She recognised the figures as the men who invaded the camp before. One of them stepped forward and pulled off their mask to reveal their grotesque face. "Your coming back with us, the King of Clubs has a taste for young women."


	6. Ein Schicksal Schlechter als Tod

_Verse 6_

_The world is stained with evil..._

_The stains entrap our soul with impure thoughts_

_Those who are most despicable cannot wipe the stains from the earth..._

_...And so must forever be oppressed by their own vice..._

Ren woke up in a dark and humid room. The only source of light came from a couple of fluorescent green tubes in the back of the room. She had no idea how she had gotten here, but she knew this was bad news.

She covered her mouth when she heard a large door creak open. The screech of the door ripped through her ears like a deafening scream. The wet crunching footsteps became louder as a figure approached her. She tried to remain hidden in the dark but the figure was just metres away.

Thankfully the figure brushed past and head towards the green tubes instead. The man's body was illuminated by the tubes. He wore a green lab coat and held a clipboard as he wrote down some data. After a few minutes he spun around and exited the room. Ren caught a brief glimpse of his strange face before he left. He appeared to have two small horns protruding from his forehead. Was he a Diclonius? She wasn't sure but she did know she had to find a way to escape before she became the next test subject.

_Oh no...I've been tied up._

"...And here is the young lady we found recently..." A voice entered the room as the doors were slammed open once more. Five of them strolled inside. The light struck Ren's face, it was almost blinding her.

One of the voices cackled as he observed Ren's features. "AHAHAHAHAHA! You really think this one will please the King? She won't even do for my own experiments." The crackling voice sounded familiar. The man lifted up her chin, his hand was cold as bone. He stroked her cheek with his elongated fingernail before he left with some of the others in disgust. "Have her disposed of appropriately, I will not have my hands tarnished by this filthy slut."

"As you wish Joker..." One of his subordinates breathed heavily as he grinded a pair of cleavers. "Don't worry little girl, this will only hurt a little." He slurped his tongue as saliva whipped Ren's face. She shivered in complete fear, she had to escape for her life. The man who bore more of a resemblance to a giant egg pressed the cold steel against her throat. The metal shimmered in the darkness. She felt death;s touch as the blade slid across her skin gently. The man slurped up the blood that lined the edge of the cleaver. "You look very pretty when you're scared...let me comfort you." Ren almost choked as the monstrous man placed his snake like tongue inside of her mouth. The feeling of that snake wriggling inside her mouth was almost worse than the thought nof death, but it gave her an opportunity.

She closed her eyes so would not have to witness the terror unfold. She clamped her jaw down like a vice. The man's screams were muffled as he tried to wrench out his tongue.

"GGGGRRRFFFGGGHH!" He desperately reached for his cleavers but Ren yanked harder until the mouth organ was ripped from his body. Blood spewed all over her face as the man screamed in silent agony. He staggered around the room trying to contain the blood that welled inside of his mouth. It didn't take long before he collapsed near Ren with his cleavers in his stiff hands. Ren used her mouth to try and grab the weapon from his cold hard grip. She had to bite a few of his fingers so the body would let go.

"_Did you hear a noise...It came from this room..."_

"HNFGH!" Ren had to hurry. They must have heard the man's screams. She manoeuvred the blade with her mouth, carefully slicing the rope that bound her hands together.

_Come on...Just a few more threads..._

"_In here! She's in here!" _The voices were getting close. The threads snapped and she was almost free. She could now reach for the other cleaver and cut off the ropes on her legs.

"WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE!" A guard bellowed out as he entered the dark room. "What on earth happened here?" He knelt down and shook the man, he covered his mouth when he discovered he had been brutally killed.

"How could this have happened to number 5?" Another guard responded.

Ren waited by the door. She clutched onto the cleavers and prepared herself for more killing. She took a deep breath and charged at the two men. One of the blades embedded itself in the first man's neck; the other one reached the other man's thigh. Though the first one was fatal the second was not quite.

"YOU BITCH!" The second man lifted her by the collar and threw her into a wall. She choked as she lost her breath. The man stumbled, affected by the blade. He yanked it out of his thigh and lifted her by the hair with the blade hovering in front of her neck.

"Grnh!" Ren's will to survive kicked in as she kicked the man in the gut. She picked up the second cleaver and hacked into the man's shoulder. As he cried out in pain she continued the brutality, hacking away at his torso until the cries stopped. Her shoulders rolled heavily as she realised the atrocity she had committed. Though they were her captors she seemed to share some sort of remorse for their deaths.

Several more footsteps pattered along the corridor. They raised their guns at the cleaver wielding child. "Give up...you've caused enough carnage around here."

"Wait a minute! Don't shoot her." A booming voice came from behind the group.

"Apologies King." The soldiers instinctively knelt down as the Man entered.

"_The King of clubs has a taste for young women."_

The King knelt down so he could be at eye level with Ren. His long mopped hair draped across his shoulders. He wore a dark trench coat and shimmering shaded sunglasses. "You will serve as a fine servant...come with me."

MEANWHILE...HEART'S CAMP

"This is terrible... have lost Ren." Ichigo could not accept that one of his new members had already disappeared. He knew that one of the other clans may have found her by now. Her fate would be dictated by the clan that came across her first.

"I will search for her." Nana volunteered.

"I will go as well." Mayu jumped to her comrades side.

Ichigo refused. "No, I can't send two young girls out in the desert just after a raid, I couldn't live with myself if something happened to either of you."

"Listen to yourself father." Nyu interjected. "You're treating them like helpless children, but Mayu is the Ninth strongest warrior and Nana is the fifth strongest in our clan."

"I've already lost a ranked member today, I don't wish to lose another."

Nyu took up her blade. "Then I will go myself."

"NYU!" Ichigo tried to stop her but she raised a wall of sand with her vectors before disappearing into the wastelands.

_I can't lose Nyu as well, I'll have to go follow her..._

BACK IN THE CLUB'S CAMP...

"Ahh...I knew you would show yourself to be a good servant." The King rested in his makeshift throne as Ren waved a large leaf in his face." She had been stripped of all her clothing and wore only a chained collar around her neck. She felt degraded and humiliated at the hands of this perverted Man.

"Enough fanfare, I want you to pleasure me now." The King unzipped his pants and produced his own weapon of choice. "NOW!"

Ren looked awkwardly at the long offending object before moving closer towards him. She had to find a way out of this brutal treatment.

"Go on don't be shy...just put him in your mouth and it will all be over soon enough." The King tried to trivialise the issue.

Ren gulped before she opened her mouth around the object. Slowly she lowered her mouth and bore her teeth. Just as she did before, she clamped her jaws down on the object, a thick mixture of blood and other fluids spurted out of the object as she grinded her teeth into the flesh.

"AAAARRGGHHH! YOU BITCH!" The King threw his fist at Ren, knocking her across the room. The Man writhed in pain as he clutched his damaged pride. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU LITTLE BITCH!" He stumbled as he rose from his throne.

This was her only chance to escape. She tried to run for the door put she was restrained by her collar. She yanked at it in desperation but it was no use. The Man was slowly crawling towards her boasting an eerie laughter.

"HUHUHUHUHUHUHAHAHAHA! Naughty animals like you need to be chained..." He grabbed the chain and wrapped it around her neck. "I'll choke the life outta you and have my way with your corpse."

Ren sobbed as she felt the life slowly drain from her. A voice began calling from inside of her.

_We must survive...Unlock the power you once held for hundreds of years and set ourselves free!_

Ren didn't understand the voice but felt the power channel into her hands. Her hand illuminated bright red as energy flowed from her palms.

The Man tightened his grip. "So you can perform a light show huh? It won't do you any good now, you're body is running low in oxygen, just a few more seconds and you'll be **mine**!"

Ren's hands went limp but the will to survive still burned strong in her little heart. She mustered up the strength in her arms and grabbed the Man's wrists.

"HADO 31...SHAKKAHO!" The red energy erupted from her hands, ripping away the flesh on the Man's hands. The force also destroyed the links in the chain freeing her from the oppression she was to endure.

The Man rolled around the floor in agony as he stared at the stumps that once held his hands. He crawled over to a desk with a large red button and slammed his mattered wrist on it.

#THIS IS AN EMERGENCY ALERT! ALL CLAN MEMBERS FIND AND KILL THE SLAVE!# Man called out on the intercom before slipping out of consciousness.

Ren scrambled through the vents trying to find an escape route. She stopped when she heard a dozen rushing footsteps through the corridors.

"After her! We mustn't let her escape!" The guards trailed off into another corridor.

"Phew..." Ren continued moving along the vents trying to be extra careful not to raise any attention. She found a grated window ahead she looked down the window into what looked like another science lab only this one had less equipment and had a large, lighted steel table in the middle of the room. There was a moaning sound coming from the corner, she could make out a large jar in the corner but couldn't quite see what was inside. She pressed her hand on the window but her weight could not be supported. She fell through the window and laid across the table, the light pierced her eyes.

"Oh it's wonderful you could come and drop by for a visit." That crackly voice from before. A grotesque man covered in black and white makeup with a blue mane around his head appeared from the darkness. "How does it feel to be an inferior human? Retsu Unohana?"


	7. Erinnerungen und Reue

_Verse 7_

_The memories we try to erase..._

_The horrid past _

_Etched into our soul..._

_We cannot escape it..._

_...But we try and rid ourselves of the pain_

_As futile as it may appear_

_At least we can grant ourselves solitude for a little while..._

Nyu strode towards the Clubs Camp. She had taken the journey alone. Two mysterious guards with gas masks stood alongside the gate entrance.

"Halt, what is your business here little girl?" A muffled voice stopped Nyu in her tracks.

Nyu's face was obscured by her fringe. She lowered her gaze before she pounced with her vectors ripping the men's legs apart. Just as she was about to silence their agonising screams she remembered something her father had told her several years ago.

"_Nyu, you were born with a special gift...however your gift is very dangerous...you must promise me you will never use this gift to hurt people no matter how bad you think they may have hurt you..."_

With this sudden realisation, Nyu fell to her knees speechless at the brutality she had issued to these humans.

If only they had shown the same kind of mercy towards Nyu. One of the guards swiped her across the head with the butt of his rifle almost knocking her out. He grabbed his speaker and called an alert to the others. However his speaker was crushed before he could finish. Nyu had destroyed it with her vectors.

"I may not be allowed to hurt you people with me vectors. But I will use them as much as possible to save Ren." And with that she leaped several metres across the gate and into the compound.

"STOP HER!" She was faced with a dozen armed soldiers. She produced her rifle and shot several blasts at the ground. The soldiers immediately responded and raised their weapons and fired. "What's going on? The bullets are going past her!" One of the soldiers noted. Some bullets remained stagnant in the air before dropping like pebbles to the ground.

"Please move...I have to see someone." She quietly strolled past the soldier much to their disgust."

"Ugh...Damn you bitch!" One of them slammed his gun towards her head but was held back by an unusual force. In an instant he was thrown into the air, twirling his body before landing into a group of men. "AGH! How did she-"

"Look out! She is one of 'them'." An observant soldier interjected.

The soldiers pursued Nyu but maintained a fair distance to ensure they weren't swept up in her vectors.

"Come on men! FIRE!"

The bullets were deflected like little lead balls. She continued her slow pace through the crowd as the rain of bullets continued to surround her.

"It's useless, we better use our grenades." A man bit off the pin and threw the explosive device towards her. Several other;s followed , creating a massive explosion that no-one should be able to escape from. Once the cloud of dirt and dust cleared they were shocked to find Nyu hovering int the air. The grenades never reached her. She descended elegantly and continued towards the main camp.

One bulky soldier with a purple cape stood in front of the main camp. "I am the Ranked Three of Clubs you won't get past me."

Nyu stopped for a moment and looked up at the large man. He had long blonde hair and thick lips but still appeared quite masculine. The man pulled out a mace and swung it wildly. "Prepare to die-"

In a flash the mace had been shattered and Nyu appeared behind the man with her sword already returning to it's sheath. "And I am the Ace of Heart's Nyu Kurosaki."

The crowd stammered when they realised her rank and name. "She is Nyu Kurosaki, the daughter of the famous Ichigo Kurosaki?" The third most powerful warrior of the Clubs clan succumbed to the sword wound which stretched across his entire right shoulder.

"Sir! Are you alright!" Several men rushed to the high ranking soldier's aid.

A booming voice came from behind the crowd. "Leave him be...just deal with the girl..."

"C-C-Commander Jack?"

"GO NOW!" The commander dismissed his army as they rushed inside to catch the intruder.

Three of Clubs slowly raised his head as he faced his superior. "I have put shame to this proud clan haven't I?"

The commander slowly drew his sword. "It is alright young warrior, I shall repent your sins." He said before brining his sword down across the man's neck.

_"I could harvest you for spare parts but nobody would take them, I could kill you right now but it would be too lenient for what you have done to me...Thankfully Seretei no longer needs a healer, it's already too late...I've planned ahead for this situation...Maybe Isane can pretend to be a good healer for a little longer..."_

Ren was mortified. Painful memories of the torment she had felt at the hands of this crazed maniac who had called himself a scientist.

"Mayuri-sama...So you have come to finish your payback against me?"

The clown-faced man erupted in laughter. "HAHAHAHAHA! You know that would be too easy for me right now...No rather I'd like to show you something that may interest you." He produced a small remote which opened a hidden door. "I'm impressed you have managed to survive this far in your human body. I must know what it feels like to be a mere mortal?" Mayuri provoked her with patronising questions.

Ren however could no longer run away from the past which had haunted her for many years. She was once an astute leader of the healing squadron of Soul Reapers – beings who maintained the balance in both the living and dead souls. However her genius and skill was always loathed by one man, the Head of Research and Development, the notorious Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

_When I was lying naked and bloodied in front of this evil man...I had come to accept my demise as a sacrifice to save whatever was left of the world...But when the darkness disappeared I had found myself in a completely new world with a completely different body._

"Ah yes it seems your body has reverted to a more juvenile form as a consequence of the severe wounds I had inflicted on your body that night..." Mayuri escorted Ren into a dark room with several objects. They appeared to have hoses and pipes connected to these objects.

"What do you want to show me? Why don't you just kill me and end the suffering I have endured."

"Tut-tut, you wouldn't like to leave without seeing your young subordinate now would you?"

Ren gasped. "What have you done with Isane?"

"Remember how I said I had great plans for the two of you? Well maybe not since you were unconscious at the time, but aside from that..." Mayuri stabbed his finger in another button which triggered several dim lights in the room. Each of them illuminated the objects which were none other than incubator jars. There were two at the head of the room, one was empty but the other contained a limbless girl with grey hair.

Ren was horrified at the site of her old subordinate. She rushed over to the jar and screamed for her friend "ISANE!"

The girls eyes opened but they were unresponsive. She was covered in an array of tubes and wires, but the things that were keeping her alive were also causing her the most pain.

"This was to be your fate as well my dear Unohana, however at the last minute Nemu dumped you in the desert in the hope that you would starve instead." Mayuri tapped his fingers around Isane's jar. "It's amazing the amount of stress you can inflict on the human body without killing the subject."

"Ren's face was streaming with tears. "So that's the only reason you let me live? So I could become another one of your test subjects?"

"Oh I wouldn't say that. More like a pet perhaps. Come on wouldn't you like to join the others."

Ren bumped into another jar, this one contained Nemu Kurotsuchi and the one adjacent to her contained another fallen warrior of the former Gotei 13, Kenpachi Zaraki. The two of them had suffered the same fate as Isane.

"Come now...it won't hurt at all, I'll just need to amputate your limbs first so you can fit in the jar and remove a few unnecessary organs so I you won't be too heavy."

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Ren screamed as she fired a few more small kido blasts.

Mayuri had a few holes punched in his body but he remained standing. "Thankfully the life-force of a Shinigami does contain some useful healing applications." He produced a small syringe and jabbed the needle into his chest. In a a matter of seconds the holes were sealed and the flesh restored. "We Clubs are fighting a war against the Diclonii, we could do with some vital healing equipment if we are to survive...Come now Unohana...Won't you help me save this god forsaken world I have created?"

SMASH.

MEANWHILE...

Nyu had successfully infiltrated the compound and searched the camp for any trace of Ren. She turned a corner and found several more soldiers talking amongst themselves. She went down another path only to find that she was trapped. She used her vectors to prop herself against the ceiling to remain hidden.

As the two groups of men chatted they received another distress call, they stormed out of the corridors, leaving Nyu to explore to her own devices.

_I wonder what the other distress call could have been for?_

Pushing that thought aside, Nyu had found a dark room which resembled something equivalent to a King's chamber. She crept along the room until she felt something grab her ankle.

"BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!" A grotesque Man in black swept her off her feet when he tugged her ankle. She tried to use her vectors to regain her footing but the force was too powerful.

She drew her rifle and blasted it into the man's face. His hat was knocked off but the bullet had only grazed him. Two small protrusions were revealed atop his mattered head.

The Man procured a wide-brimmed smile. "What will you do now realising that your bullets are useless against the likes of me?" He drew a small crossbow which held a small spiked ball. "These things on the other hand..." When he fired the projectile it embedded itself deep in Nyu's abdomen. Nyu reached for her sword but as she swung down she collapsed in as a sudden burst of pain pulsed through her body.

"GAAAGHH!" She writhed on the ground as she attempted to pull out the metal ball.

The Man chuckled deeply as he rose to his feet. "Doing that will only hasten the flow of poison coursing through your body, It's a shame you never thought about using those vectors in the first place, you may have actually had a shot at killing me, but now it's too late and your precious body is mine." The Man wrapped his hands around her soft neck.

The Man began choking her in the darkness. As the life slowly drained from Nyu's body she realised she should have used her vectors.

_Sorry Ren...Sorry Father...I have failed both of you and mankind..._

SMASH.

Mayuri turned to face the pink haired figure that emerged from the gaping hole in the wall.

"You'll have to pay to repair that vital equipment." Mayuri cursed.

The figure became more clear to Mayuri as it's white mask reflected in the dim light.

The Unknown Man quickly reached for his bow but was pinned to his throne by an invisible force.

As the armoured figure strolled towards her prey the Man began to erupt in a fit of laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So you've finally found the nerve to face your own killer...

"Ah so you've finally returned...

"...Number 28..."

"...Lucy..."


	8. Flüchtige Rache

_Verse 8_

_The requiem of the sandy plain..._

_It echoes in the wind..._

_With it come the faces of the past,_

_What was once a mirage has formed itself into an unforgiving reality..._

"Come on were almost there!" Ichigo led a small band of Hearts warriors as they charged towards the Clubs main camp.

"Look at that!" Commander Karin observed swirling fireballs billowing from the camp. "Someone may have already begun a raid."

Ichigo covered his face with his scarf. "Maybe...Or maybe _something._"

Ren gazed at the strange pink haired woman before her. Her hair flowed elegantly as if it were hypnotic. Her entire face was concealed in a plain helmet like mask with only four holes for breathing.

"I see the hybridisation with the Arrancar was highly successful." Mayuri walked around her body admiring her natural features. "Your physical structure is almost as authentic as the real Lucy."

The naked woman breathed heavily as she stared at the masochist. Ren had only blinked once but in that moment the scientist's eyes had been gouged out.

"Ack. WHY!" Mayuri waved his hands around trying to find Lucy. "I created the form you bestow! Why have you betrayed me?"

Lucy did not speak but managed to pin Mayuri to the wall using her telekinetic ability. Ren was petrified at this sadistic woman. She couldn't tell who was more evil, she just wanted to escape the nightmare.

Mayuri's windpipe was slowly being crushed by Lucy's invisible hands. "If you kill me, you'll never find the antidote..."

Lucy tilted her head indicating confusion. "That's right...I reconfigured a portion of your original body when we first met, I knew obtaining you might be tricky, so I grew small cysts in your brain and the other two, only I know the cure so if I die you'll soon die as well."

Ren was shocked at the man's words. _He would intentionally set up his creations with a limited life expectancy? What if he has done something to Nyu too?_

Mayuri was wheezing as his breath was slowly fading. "What will you do? Are you really gonna kill me?"

"HAHAHA! Look at your fabulous new body." The Man psychotically acknowledged Number 28's new form. Most of her body from below the waist was covered in thick white armour as well as her arms which were concealed in bone. One half of her was concealed by a plain white mask

"Don't you dare call me by that name again!" She sliced with her vectors, tearing the room apart in the process.

The Man casually ducked and weaved from each attack, mocking her in the process. "So did you ever get back those organs I harvested from your sweet little body?"

"SHUT UP YOU BASTARD!" She unleashed all her vectors into his torso. Her stood in mid air silently as his body was poked full of holes.

All this time Nyu watched on, even she was terrified of this Diclonius.

_If I attack her, she will only kill me...But even if I win, that Man will probably kill me anyway...What should I do?_

The Man's lips drooped down into a flayed frown. But in one convulsive reflex he jerked back to life. His wounds slowly stitching themselves back together. "**Hehe...I really thought you had dealt me the fatal blow then, but you see my vectors are capable of far more than yours could ever amount to. I have essentially become...A GOD!"** He slashes his vectors across number 28's entire body. The powerful Diclonius stumbles as her naked body is painted red.

"Tch. You let yourself become an experiment, just so you could slaughter our kind again." She forms several balls of energy around her body. "I can't let a monster like yourself live any longer." The balls of energy fire towards the Man. The entire room is engulfed in an amazingly bright light. Surely not even he could have survived such an attack.

"**Hehehehe...To think if I hadn't corrupted your body you would never had the chance to become so strong.**" The Man emerged from the wreckage, the skin on his face was starting to melt away.

"Give up...Though you might have greater powers than me, your still just a human." Number 28 was beginning to form more of her cero blasts.

The Man chuckled lightly. "**I've waited decades for this battle, I'd love to see your limbless body squirm just one last time**." The Man strafed around the Diclonius slamming his vectors into the ground. Number 28 was quick on her feet and able to dodge each strike, however his attacks were raising a lot of smoke and dust.

"Where are you? Stop hiding in the dust you coward!" Number 28's back was turned from his attack.

"**Your mine now bitch!**" He fired another of the spiky balls into her back. Number 28 screamed in agony as the Nuerotoxin entered her blood. "**And a few more for good luck." **He threw five more into her back using his vectors.

Number 28 was frothing from the mouth as the Unknown Man walked over her light body. She tried to speak but only managed to cough up blood.

"**Oh, no...looks like your paralysed, you won't be needing these anymore then.**" The man used his vectors to pull out one of her arms. She yelped in pain as he waved her arm around her numb face.

"Rot in hell..." Number 28 spoke weakly.

"**Now Guinea Pigs shouldn't talk.**" The Man begun ripping out her legs and other arm. Number 28 was soon looking much like when she was a prop inside this monster's backpack.

"I'LL VOW TO KILL YOU IN EACH LIFE!" She spat blood into his disfigured face.

The Man grinned, revealing his grotesque gumless smile. "**You really do talk too much**." He plucked out her tongue with one of his vectors.

"STOP IT!" Nyu screamed as she couldn't bare the torture anymore.

The man looked at Nyu oddly. "**Don't worry precious, your turn will be soon enough."**

Nyu threw her vectors at the Man, poking more holes through his chest. As his wounds healed other parts of his body disintegrated. He help up a slimy finger. "**You are the feisty one!**" He pinned her against a boulder.

Nyu was struggle to breath. She lifted her gun with one of her vectors and started firing. However it was useless against this monster. He simply laughed at her hopeless predicament.

The Man's eyes turned a shade of red as he bore a menacing face.**"MWHAHAHAHAHA! I'm going to enjoy fucking your corpses!**"

"NOOOOOO!"

CRASH. BOOM SLASH. A chorus of brutal noise entered the room. Nyu was released from the boulder. As she slumped to the ground, she caught a glimpse of a young girl rushing towards her.

"Nyu! Please be okay!" The voice was gentle and heart-warming.

Nyu spoke faintly. "Funny...I was supposed to save you Ren..." She faded out of consciousness.

Two demons stood before each other. The Man grinned as he regenerated his lopped arm. "**Now this one will be a challenge...Lucy...**"


	9. Die Umarmung der Göttin

**I've republished the ninth and tenth chapters together as they were both pretty short. So enjoy two chapters in one and the ninth chapter of the third installment of the Two Worlds trilogy!_  
_**

_Verse 9_

_To slay a God..._

_Requires another god..._

_Or a demon..._

Ichigo led the Heart's into the Clubs burning camp. He discovered the camp was being overrun with masked horned warriors – he knew they could only be from one clan.

"**Spades...**" Ichigo balled his fists. "Come on, don't waste your time with them, we just have to rescue Nyu and Ren!"

…

Ren sneaked past the two demons, carrying Nyu's body to a safe distance. She noticed the other masked Diclonius held Mayuri's head. She was somewhat glad to see that depraved soul depart this apocalyptic world.

"**Come now Lucy...I've been waiting for decades to finally challenge you.**" The crazed Unknown Man projected his vectors at the Diclonii Queen, she easily dodged all of them. Even though the Unknown Man had proven to be too much of a challenge for Number 28, it seemed this one was on an entirely different level to her.

The air pressure rose significantly as Ren could feel the intense vibrations coming from Lucy's vectors. The walls and ceiling were caving in as the Queen's vectors began demolishing the Unknown Man's paradise.

_I can't stay any longer, if I don't get away from these two, I'll end up caught in their crossfire_. Ren fled outside where the rest of the Masked Diclonii were slicing up any remaining Clubsmen.

Past the slaughter she noticed the people she had been previously welcomed by. The Hearts had come back to save her. "OVER HERE!" She tried to grab their attention – but foolishly gathering the attention of her enemies at the same time.

"NYU!" Karin slashed through the Spade's ranks as she ride towards the two girls.

"KARIN WATCH OUT!" Ichigo tried to call back her impulsive younger sister.

"Huh-?" Karin was cut off quite literally as a rouge vector sliced her left arm like melted butter. "GAGGHH! BROTHER HELP ME!"

"KARIN NO!" Ichigo advanced in next, his subordinates trying in vain to calm their leader.

The Masked-Diclonii raised the heads towards the fiery haired leader as he drew a black katana chained to his hand. He sliced down one of the wayward Arrancar but some of the others used their hands to jump back and maintain a safe distance from the swordsmen.

"Karin! Hang on! We'll get you back to the main camp. The medics will treat you there."

Karin's vision was fading as the blood kept draining from her former arm. "Ichi-ni...Please forgive me...I should've followed orders...but I was too reckless as always..." Karin smiled weakly before she finally succumbed to the pain and blood loss.

Ichigo hugged his sister tightly, pouring his tears on his sister's face. Through the ensuing melee, Ren walked over to the distraught leader and offered a comforting hand. "She will be okay if we can get her back quickly...I may still be able to reattach her arm."

"Ren?" Ichigo dried away his despair.

"We must go back now...I can't stand to see any more blood shed here." The young girl was starting to sound like a real woman. Ren's peaceful voice reminded him of someone he had once known in the long past, but he had no time to dwell on it.

Ichigo waved his sword high in the air. "RETREAT! We have achieved our objective for today...There is no need for any more casualties here!"

The Heart's clansmen regathered themselves for a hasty retreat. Some of the Masked-Diclonii had been slain but most were too powerful for any mere human to handle. The Heart's clan could lick their wounds and fight for another day...

Meanwhile back in the former throne-room of the Clubs main camp...

The Unknown Man – or Unknown self-Proclaimed god gazed up at the demon who had defeated him. His horns had cracked and fallen to the ground in powder. "**I'm glad I could finally fight the true Goddess of this world...Now I can finally leave this place...**" He smiled crudely as his jaw melted off his face, followed by his arms as they pulled out of their sockets, then his back finally gave way as his bones and organs collapsed into a pudgy pile of flesh and blood. Lucy stepped over the puddle that was the Unknown Man, gazing at her messy reflection in the human mirror.

_This world...needs to be cleaned for good..._

…

HEART'S MAIN CAMP

"How's Karin?" Ichigo tried passing the infirmary staff as he waited outside the medic tent.

"Please King Ichigo, let Commander Karin rest for now." One of the medics gruffly recommended behind his mask.

"Ren is working hard to reattach her arm." Mayu and Nana came out of the medic tent. Mayu had grown to become used to the horrible sight of death and injury over the years in Hearts. The young woman had grown up faster than a lot of children of her generation ever had the chance to. She was one of the few remaining 'humans' left in existence.

"We're running low on manpower the way things are going." Ichigo shook his head. "If we are to stand a chance against the Spade's army, we'll have to pay the Diamonds a visit."

"The Diamonds?" Hisagi shouted. "But we know very little about their forces or intentions.

Ichigo nodded. "That's true, but I'm afraid that if we are to have a chance at defeating the Spades once and for all, then we're going to have to form an alliance with the Diamonds clan."

Kurama lifted his glasses as he tried to explain. "The Diamonds are still assumed to be a hostile group, we cannot guarantee that they will form an alliance with us Hearts."

Ichigo punched his fist and smiled with determination in his eyes. "Well, we'll just force 'em into an alliance then."

…

LATER ON - DIAMONDS HEADQUARTERS:

"Oh geez, King, would you stop flirting with our Joker!" A wonderfully kept lady with glasses and short black hair scolded her leader.

"Ohh c'mon Nanao-chan, y'know I love you and Arakawa-chan equally." The King smiled behind his rice hat as he continued fondling the head researcher of the Diamonds.

"Ohh, please King, I haven't washed myself since the world was destroyed and I..." Arakawa moaned in strange pleasure, crossing her legs to hide the shame.

"And by the way girls, you don't need to call me King, just Shunsui will do." The Rice-hat wearing leader declared.

"King Kyouraku." The Jack/Commander of the Diamonds military – a giant fox man came over. "We have received reports from our scouts that a small group of forces are making their way to our base."

"That so." Shunsui said casually as he continued brushing Arakawa's hair. "Well let our guests come on over then...I guess it's about time we had ourselves a little party don'tcha think Komamura?"

…

MEANWHILE - OUTSIDE THE DIAMONDS HEADQUARTERS:

Ichigo had arrived with only four other soldiers. He noticed the fairly sophisticated looking headquarters in the distance as a sand blizzard came past.

"A pretty fancy base!" Ichigo regarded. "Let's hope they've got plenty of soldiers, because we'll be needing them all in our final showdown with the spades."

Tatsuke walked beside the leader of Hearts. "Do you really think the five of us can convince diamonds to join us?"

Ichigo turned back to his group. With the 5th, 4th, 2nd and Ace of Hearts accompanying him, he had relied on his strongest warriors for this upcoming 'negotiation'. "With Nana , Hisagi, yourself and Nyu by my side, I am confident we can win over their hearts and minds." Ichigo drew a black sword from his dark jacket. "And if not, we can always beat some sense into them."

The small group made their way towards the entrance. A large set of hangar doors greeted their arrival. Suddenly as they took another step forward, the large doors rolled open to reveal two columns of armed soldiers, storming their way out of the hangar. They showed their unique hospitality for the guests by aiming their guns at the five Hearts.

"Lower your arms." A soft spoken voice walked out of the hangar. The large army quickly withdrew their arms as they virtually formed a guard of honour for this one Diamond's soldier. Under the darkness of the hangar, this one soldier gradually become more visible, revealing his elegant clothing.

Ichigo recognised the person as soon as he noticed the blue scarf and white hairpiece. "So, I'm guessing you wont make these peace negotiations easy for me either? Byakuya Kuchiki"

* * *

Ichigo and Byakuya face each other in a post apocalyptic world of Shinigami and Diclonii. Can Ichigo defeat Byakuya and gain some new allies at the same time? Don't miss the next exciting chapter in the Two Worlds Trilogy!


	10. Unterwanderung

**Technically the eleventh chapter but now tenth after I fused the last two together. Anyway there's still plenty more action to come in the Two Worlds Trilogy. I'm really getting the momentum to finish this one off for good now thanks to some motiviating reviews. Enjoy!**

_Verse 10_

_Old faces return..._

_Only what we see is nothing from our past._

_The fleeting souls take a chance..._

_To revive old bonds._

"Byakuya Kuchiki..." Ichigo regarded the man with a devious grin. "I'm surprised you're still alive."

Byakuya closed his eyes as he explained. "What ever gave you the impression I was dead?" Byakuya continued as he reopened his eyes. "Shunsui Kyouraku's Bankai preserved the three of us from the fusing universes."

"The three of you?" Ichigo was surprised. "Who was the third person?"

"Sajin Komamura." Byakuya bluntly answered.

"So the fox-man and crossdresser are still alive?" Ichigo seemed relieved that three former Gotei 13 officers had survived the apocalypse. "Well now that we know of the good news, would you like to join forces with us against the Spades Diclonii-Arrancar army?"

Byakuya gave very little impression that he would consent to any alliance. "Why would we ever need to rely on a bunch of misfit humans and substitute Shinigami to help our fight against the Spades Army?"

"Well, doesn't it just make sense to fight them on two fronts." Ichigo seemed to have his ideal scenario planned out. "I mean, why the hell did we ever form these stupid clans in the first place?"

"You should know the answer to that boy." Byakuya spoke with a much deeper register. "**It's because our final goals our ultimately different**."

Ichigo hung onto that thought for a moment. _Our goals are different? But don't the Diamonds wish to destroy all the Hollow-Diclonii like us Hearts. I mean the Clubs were just complete nutcases with Mayuri and that weird Man, but I always figured the Diamonds would be a lot more like us than the Spades or Clubs._

"Now I think you should return to your little camp, there is nothing further for us to discuss here." Byakuya turned away and began to walk inside when he felt the air change.

CLING. Byakuya lifted out his sword and blocked the attack that was aimed at the back of his neck. "Foolish boy, are you still trying that old move?"

"Dammit Byakuya snap out of it!" Ichigo grit his teeth as he pushed his sword down against Byakuya's. "We didn't come here to ask for an alliance nicely."

"I see..." Byakuya turned his body, parrying the sword away. "Then I guess you leave me no choice then."

"You guys flood the compound while I take care of Byakuya!" Ichigo gave his orders to the four Heartsmen. "And try not to kill anyone, we need them all!"

"Right let's go!" Tatsuki began using her old kickboxing moves on some of the guards. She weaved and slid out of their gun-sights as she knocked them down like bowling pins.

Hisagi drew out his own sword and slammed his handle into their guts. Winding them and knocking them out in one blow. "Too easy." He regarded as he batted the sheath of his sword against another oncoming soldier.

Nana used her vectors to punch and throw some of the soldiers. She lifted two by the ankle and swung them like a human flail, knocking even more out before throwing them into another group. "Take this!" She charged forward as another wave of soldiers came out, responding with her rocket punch by shooting her artificial hands at the armed men.

Nyu advanced the furthest, already making her way inside. As she came across an open corridor, more solders streamed out of a room. She noticed some large overhead lights hanging down the ceiling. She pulled out her gun and shot them, causing the heavy lights to fall and smash down onto the next dozen victims.

"Nice work Nyu!" Nana and the others had now caught up to the Ace warrior. "Let's split in two." Nana declared. "Nyu and Myself will take the top level and Hisagi and Tatsuki take the bottom."

"Roger!" Hisagi and Tatsuki quickly departed into another walkway.

"Let's go Nyu." Nana lifted herself onto the balcony of the second level using her invisible grappling line and Nyu followed suit.

"There they are stop the invaders!" Several more soldiers poured out of the upper level corridors as the two Diclonii used their extra fists to their advantage, pummelling and smashing their way through the weak humans.

"These people won't stand a chance against the Diclonii-Arrancar..." Nyu solemnly regarded as she paced her way through the fallen soldiers.

"But we mustn't harm them..." Nana said in a more peaceful tone. "They're just innocent bystanders in this war with the Hollows."

"True.,.." Nyu quietly answered as she burst open a steel door with her invisible crowbars.

The white and pink haired girls had entered what appeared to be a control room or lab. A number of rows of computers lined the room, each scrolling various green text on black screens. A number of walkways and railings zigzagged the large room as it rose upon several graded stairs.

Nyu called out to seemingly noone. "Is anyone here?"

"NYU WATCH OUT!" Nana tackled her Diclonii comrade as a number of rapid shots struck the computers sending sparks and glass shards flying across the room. "Don't shoot, we don't wish to harm any of you!" Nana pleaded to the mysterious attacker.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you two to advance any further." A stern female voice emerged from the dark shadows which made up the other side of the room. The woman appeared much taller as she stood on the higher levels of the control room. She slung an MP7 sub-machine gun in her left arm as she paced slowly across the room. "I, Ise Nanao, will not let you reach King Shunsui Kyouraku at all costs!"

…

"Tch. There's so many of these guys packed in here." Shunsui grew frustrated as he continued using restricted attacks on the hordes of soldiers.

"HYAH!" Tatsuki landed another flying kick into some unfortunate Diamonds. "Well it ain't all bad. It's a good warm-up for the real battle."

"Your little raid ends here!" As they reached the end of the lower floors the two Hearts had come across a small group of katana wielding soldiers. "I am the Three of Diamonds and former 6th Seat of Seventh Division officer Kentauro Genjobi."

"So you guys are all ex-Shinigami too eh?" Hisagi unsheathed his sword, discarding the sheath as a smile of confidence drew across his lips. "Former Lieutenant of Ninth Division and the Fourth strongest Hearts warrior, Shuhei Hisagi." Hisagi held out his sword horizontally as he faced his opponent. "A pleasure to make your acquaintances.

"A former Lieutenant?" Genjobi smirked. "Well thankfully your Shinigami powers will no longer work in this desolate universe." He slashed across the air with his own blade. "Now we have an even playing field."

…

Byakuya and Ichigo continued locking blades as they parried each others attacks. Ichigo went down for a sweeping strike but Byakuya was still quite fast footed and able to evade each of his sneak attacks.

"I see you still uphold your false sense of pride even when the entire universe is in disrepair." Ichigo taunted the former Gotei 13 Captain. "Even though our enemies are the same, you still want to make me go through this silly game with you again."

"The very fact that you house Diclonius in your army proves that we have very different ways of dealing with our supposed 'enemies'" Byakuya explained as he darted around Ichigo's position attempting to stab through his back.

Ichigo stopped the tip of his blade with the flat of his own. "Hah, without your flower petals, you can only use cheap tactics as well."

…

"An even playing field you say?" Hisagi stepped forward as he turned his sword, the blade edge facing his opponent. "We may no longer have our Zanpakutos or the ability to use kido or flash step...but..." Hisagi trusted his blade as it connected with the Third strongest warrior of the diamonds army..."

…

"...We Shinigami still posses one advantage over you humans and Diclonii." The machine gun wielding Nanao pressed the barrel of her gun against Nana's chest.

…

"You think our battle will be decided by foolish concepts such as Shikai or Bankai?" Byakuya scoffed as he turned around on his right leg, sending the ankle of his left leg in a spinning heel kick against Ichigo's gut. "Do you have any idea why I was assigned the title of Ace of Diamonds?"

"GUAGH!" Ichigo spat out a mouthful of saliva as he flew across the battlefield, using his black katana to stop his momentum.

"The only factor which has ever mattered..." Byakuya stated as he rolled Ichigo onto his back with his leg. "And the factor which has determined our differences in power..."

…

Hisagi stood over his opponent, whom had already found his back against the wall. "This battle..."

…

"...Will be decided..."

…

"...On sheer strength..."

* * *

The collapse of both Soul Society and Hueco Mundo has also taken the combat abilities of Shinigami and Hollows. With only sheer physical strength and stamina left left to determine the extent of one's power, can Ichigo still defeat the lightning fast Byakuya? And how will Nyu and Nana fare against the gunwielding Nanao? Don't miss the next epic chapter!


	11. Stärke aus dem Herzen

_Verse 11_

_The will to fight..._

_The will to survive..._

_A common enemy..._

_A different path._

…

HEARTS MAIN CAMP:

Ren watched over Karin after mending her arm using kido. She had used up all her strength and was felt quite faint as she tried to stand.

"You did well young girl." Tessai, the gentle giant and Third strongest warrior of the hearts complimented the healing prodigy. "I have prepared a warm meal and bed for you to rest now."

"Thanks sir." Ren sighed as the large man helped her to her feet. She still hadn't mentioned her past to anyone in the camp. How she used to be a woman named Retsu Unohana – one of the most capable healers in what was once a place called Soul Society.

"_Ah yes it seems your body has reverted to a more juvenile form as a consequence of the severe wounds I had inflicted on your body..."_

"_...Thankfully the life-force of a Shinigami does contain some useful healing applications..."_

"_...Come now Unohana...Won't you help me save this god forsaken world I have created?"_

Ren pondered over Mayuri's last words before he was slain by the Diclonius he had called Lucy. _What could he have meant by that? Was he also trying to save the world? _

Tessai could hear a voice calling out for him. "Please excuse me Ms. Su, I must attend to someone for one second." The formal speaking titan departed the small infirmary tent. Ren returned her gaze to the young girl, possibly not much older than herself, who was now sleeping peacefully.

_This poor girl must have grown up so fast. Seeing her world completely annihilated, I cannot imagine the pain and heartache she must've felt when she had to face this new reality. I just hope I can be as strong and resilient as her one day._

Not long after Tessai had left did he poke his head back into the tent and called for the healer. "Ms. Su, the Queen would like to have a word with you."

…

"Now Ichigo, I will show you once and for all how very different our power levels were from the very beginning." Byakuya lifted his blade into the air before sending the guillotine down onto Ichigo's head.

GRAB. Ichigo blocked the sword with his own hand. "Listen to yourself Byakuya. It's about time someone told you how much you speak out of your arse." Ichigo lifted his head so he could show his bruised grin to the pride-filled Byakuya. "If this battle is based on strength alone, then you were going to lose from the get-go." Ichigo brought up his other fist, slamming his knuckles into Byakuya's unsuspecting chin.

"Why you!" Byakuya stumbled back, trying to maintain his composure. "How dare you continue to mock a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guards."

"I've been waiting so many years to give you that one..." Ichigo smirked as he propped himself back on his feet, his sword swinging loosely by his right hand. "**Now let's finish this good ol' rematch!**"

…

Before Hisagi could send the handle of his blade into Ginjobi's temple, his sword-hand was grabbed by a gigantic, inhuman looking hand. "What!"

"I'm afraid I must stop you Lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi." The towering and broad shouldered figure spoke.

"It's you?" Hisagi gazed up into the fox-man's tiny eyes. "Captain Komamura!"

…

"That's enough my dear Nanao-chan..." Before Nanao could gain the pleasure of blasting lead into the two Diclonii, a grainy and tired sounding voice came into the room. "I wouldn't want to see your beautiful face stained with any blood now would I?"

"Please King, allow me to kill these monsters for you." Nanao pleaded with the hairy man as he came over and embraced her from behind.

"You've done well Nanao my Queen, but please, let a gentleman handle the dirty work." The rice-hat wearing leader declared.

"So you're the leader of this clan?" Nyu quizzed the scruffy looking King, maintaining her assertiveness as she and Nana braced themselves against the wall.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so little ladies." The King crossed his arms over and drew out two shining blades of doom. "You can just call me Shunsui...Oh and..." Shunsui looked back over his shoulder as if seeking some sort of approval from his Queen ranked subordinate. "I'm afraid I can't let you pink haired cuties live for any longer."

…

Ren entered a larger tent that was adorned with various charms and decorations. It really was, to herself at least, a bedroom fit for a princess – or a Queen.

"Hello Miss Ren Su, I'm glad I finally had the chance to meet you." An elegant sounding voice greeted the young girl.

"Oh-uh...Hello Ms. Queen." Ren bowed down as she noticed the beautiful woman resting on the edge of her bed. Her long brown hair cascading down her white dress and onto the mattress like a waterfall.

"Please, don't use such odd sounding terms of address." The woman remained humble even with such a high rank. "You can call me Kaede."

"Kaede..." Ren repeated the name with a soft spoken voice.

"I'm very grateful that you were able to heal my husband's sister." Kaede reflected her appreciation. "You don't know how grateful I am for that."

"I don't deserve such praise Que- I mean Ms. Kaede." Ren blushed as she averted her gaze. "I feel so ashamed with myself. I was too weak to defend myself against those kidnappers." Ren scrunched her clothes as she started feeling water in the corner of her eyes. "If I hadn't been taken by those people, she would never had to have come and saved me...But I..."

"No..." When Kaede spoke, Ren was drawn back to her crimson-brown eyes – eyes which conveyed true peace and harmony. "Please don't put yourself down young girl. I have been told all about your special talents...You are definitely not weak."

"Please Ms. Kaede, I am so sorry for causing everyone to suffer for my sake."

Kaede smiled warmly as she held out her hand to the despairing child. "When I was informed about another survivor, I experienced the same kind of joy a mother would when having a child." She took Ren's hand and guided it back towards the young girl's chest. "You feel your heartbeat? You definitely do not have a weak spirit, I can feel it in your very heart."

"Really?" Ren seemed to lighten herself up at Kaede's soothing words.

"I on the other hand, have been getting frailer by the day." Kaede suddenly interrupted her touching moment with a loud spluttering cough. As she pulled away from the girl and covered her mouth, she tried hiding away the blood that was on her hand. "I'm sorry you had to see that, but I'm afraid my time is coming to a close."

"Maybe I can heal you then...Is that why you called me here?" Ren felt like she had to do something to help this poor woman.

"That won't be necessary." Kaede shook her head slowly. "I am ready to leave this world. But I know you can use your gift to help the next generation survive." Kaede lowered her gaze as she spoke with less light in her spirit. "I do hope my husband and step-daughter can create a new, better world. I hope they can create a world where the children can play in the grass and dip their feet in the cool refreshing water. I want them to create a world where no child ever has to feel sadness or the pain of losing a loved one." Kaede rubbed her hand along the soft bed. "So many innocent souls lost their lives when the worlds of the living and the dead impacted, and the pain those children who survived had to go through just..."

Kaede was about to bring herself to tears at that point, but she forced a smile as she faced the young Ren. "I know you will help them shape this new world...That is why you must never doubt yourself."

Ren formed a weak smile as well. "Thanks Ms. Kaede, I'm glad I was able to speak with you."

"I was glad I had the opportunity to speak with you to, Miss Ren Su." Kaede brushed a soft hand through Ren's black locks.

"GAAAARRRGGHH!" Terror filled screams suddenly ended the peaceful moment as Kaede jumped to her feet, her frilly white dress slipping down to her ankles.

"My dear Queen, we must take you somewhere safe!" Kurama and a number of lower ranked villagers burst into the room. "We're under attack by the Spades!"

But Kaede showed an expression of determination as she walked past the men and out of the room. "Queen you can't go out there!"

"Ms. Kaede, I think we should run away like they said!" Ren followed after the brunette.

"I will not sit down and let these people kill anymore!" She vowed with a tone of authority as she opened the tent and emerged outside. Tessai and a number of armed villagers formed a human wall in front of Kaede.

"Queen, please escape while we hold the enemy back!" The giant Three of Hearts urged as he maintained his defiant stance. "State your reasons for intruding on our territory and annulling our truce!"

Ren peered through the Hearts ranks so she could see the small group of Masked-Diclonii facing them. Their smooth, almost featureless masks and dark holes in their chest horrified Ren and shook her bones. They didn't seem quite human or monster, just a blank canvas of death.

One of the masked demons stepped forward. Her features stood out from the other grunts: Thick white armour covering her entire limbs and up to her waist and half of her face revealed under a plain white mask. Now Ren could see there was pain and sadness in this most depraved soul's eyes.

"We only came here for one person, we do not intend to harm anymore of your citizens." Judging by the blood and the dozen or so corpses lying at her feet, it seemed they had already began. "Now just hand her to us and we will leave you in peace."

Ren noticed Kaede was trembling as the Masked-Diclonii spoke. _Who is it that these people are after?_

The lead Diclonii-Arrancar extended out her bony hand as she gestured for someone. "Now, will you come along with us...Kaede?"

* * *

Number 28 has invaded the Hearts Camp, and at a time when the strongest warriors are engaged in another battle! What do the Spades want with Kaede? Can Ichigo, Nyu and the other Hearts make it back in time to save them? Don't miss the next heartbreaking chapter!


	12. Endloser Verlust

**I was actually hoping this third instalment would be shorter than the previous two, but now it looks like it's gonna be somewhere bewteen 20-30K words now. But I suppose the more action the better eh? So enjoy the latest chapter!  
**

_Verse 12_

_Driven to extinction._

_Like lambs to the slaughter..._

_The sun in our hearts has well and truly set._

"GRAGH!" Ichigo had found his strength and was soon turning the tables on the former Captain-class Shinigami opponent. He kept clashing his steel against his own, sending intense sparks across their vision. Their gazes were locked on each other's determined eyes – the eyes which lusted for victory.

"Byakuya, will you still clutch onto your hopeless pride, even when my blade reaches your throat?" Ichigo exclaimed as he swiped his sword in a diagonal arc.

"In this decrepit world, honour and dignity are the only things left to possess in one's life." Byakuya defended his pride as he dashed out of Ichigo's stabbing strike. Ichigo was now overextending himself, allowing the perfect opening for Byakuya to strike his body.

"ARGH!" Ichigo cursed as he felt Byakuya's blade slice against his flesh. He tried crossing his forearm over the bloody gash which stretched diagonally across his torso. "Hah, hah, hah...Well then, it seems the only way I can put some sense into you is if I kill you then."

Ichigo roared as he charged forward, his strikes were getting heavier but more sluggish. Byakuya had always been quick on his feet. Ichigo would need to change his strategy if he had any hope of reaching him now.

"Gack!" Ichigo spat out warm saliva as he felt Byakuya strike a pressure point in the back of his neck. "But...how can you use Flash Step?"

"That was not Flash Step." Byakuya coldly explained as he lifted Ichigo's chin with the tip of his sword. "You were simply unable to keep up to the very end."

Ichigo broke a weak smile as he felt Byakuya's steel press against his throat. "Well, I guess Nyu will have to save the world for me now heh..." Ichigo closed his eyes as he awaited his final judgement.

SPLOOSH.

…

"WATCH OUT NYU!" Nana used the propulsion of her vectors to dodge another of the King's strikes.

Nyu was dodging the strikes as she continued studying his moves. She began to notice that he seemed to have an odd style of swordsmanship, with his left hand using the smaller wakizashi and the right hand wielding the longer tachi sword. However his strikes didn't seem to extend to their full potential. As he kept slashing away around the computer terminals, Nyu finally deduced that he was in fact stronger with his left hand – the hand which he had nominated to wield the wakizashi with.

"Nana, take this side for a moment, I have an idea." Nyu flew across the lab so she could be on Shunsui's right side. Nana quickly followed as she braced herself for the next move.

"Hoh? You girls are comin' up with a game plan now? Interesting." Shunsui spun his swords so the blade would face up as he charged towards them both. Nyu gave Nana a small nod which they had learned was the signal for a decoy manoeuvre.

"Right, here I come!" Nana charged towards Shunsui's left side with her vectors flailing in the air. As Nyu expected, Shunsui was going to attack Nana first.

_His best arm is his left, so surely he will use his short sword to make a quick slash at Nana before he goes for me but..._

As Nyu went in to take his right flank, her sword was stopped by a fast blur of metal. "What?" Nyu noticed that her strike had in fact been blocked by the wakizashi.

"Urk." Crimson soup gushed from Nana's gut as she was slashed by the longer tachi.

"But! You swapped your swords?" Nyu was shocked as Shunsui cleaned Nana's blood off with the pink ladies kimono which he had draped over his white haori and Black shihakusho.

"Poor girl, I hate to see a young girl in pain..." Shunsui regarded the fallen Diclonius as tears drained out of Nana's dull eyes. "But, we gotta stop all the Diclonius and it can't be helped." Shunsui took off his pink garment and threw it over the near unconscious Nana like a blanket. "Please forgive me, but I'm gonna have to make you cry as well."

…

"HISAGI!" Tatsuki cried out to the former Lieutenant as he was thrown into a wall by Komamura's powerful force. "I'm coming to back you up!" Tatsuki shouted over, but she was held back by more Diamond reinforcements. "Shit I don't have time to waste with any of you." Tatsuki punched and kicked her way through the crowd, grabbing one soldier and pushing his body into another few more. She would grab one soldiers rifle and choke him unconscious with the strap before batting the butt of the rifle into another soldier's head. As more of the sword wielding soldiers advanced on her, she would evade their strikes, giving their guts an uppercut as they overextended themselves. Then she would start blocking another strike as the sword came down for her head, grabbing the wrist and forcing the blade out of their hands. Now she would have to start cutting a few tendons just to finish the job.

_Sorry Ichigo, but some people are gonna have to feel some pain now._

"You have routed my entire army." The Jack/Commander Komamura gave some credit to the feisty black haired girl. "But I'm afraid I cannot let you interfere with our headquarters anymore." Komamura slashed his sword down on Tatsuki's – the much smaller girl immediately feeling the immense weight of his sword against hers.

_I can't hold him. He'll either cut me or crush me in the process._

"Tatsuki, run away! You can't handle a former Captain.

"GNGH!" Komamura threw his fist against Tatsuki's frame, she screamed as she was driven hundreds of metres across the entire hangar floor, her body coming to a disturbing silence as she skimmed the floor like a pebble.

"Tatsuki!" Hisagi got back to his feet so he could rush over to his superior ranked comrade.

"I haven't killed her Hisagi." Komamura said with a more pessimistic tone. "Please take you friend and leave this place now."

"Why..." Hisagi seemed hurt, the same kind of hurt he felt when his very own Captain had betrayed him and defected to Hueco Mundo. "Why are we fighting each other? Aren't we supposed to be stopping the Diclonii-Arrancar together?"

Komamura stepped over to Hisagi as he remained tall in his stance. "I'm afraid, although our ends are mutual, the Diamonds and Hearts have a different means of reaching those ends."

"What do you mean?" Hisagi spoke to the mighty Komamura as if he were his own Captain.

Komamura looked up as he explained. "Your leader, Kurosaki Ichigo, possesses two of the three fragments of the original Diclonius – the ones named Nyu and Kaede." Komamura paused as he took a breath and sighed. "The Spades of course possess the third, most deadly fragment we refer to as Lucy. Both our clans are after that third fragment."

"I know that." Hisagi seemed frustrated. "But why must we fight each other over such a goal?"

"That is because..." Komamura stepped past his old friend from Soul Society so their backs were now turned, signifying the disparity which now existed between the two former comrades. "Your leader wishes to unite the three fragments, whereas we wish to destroy the three fragments."

…

"Kaede is not going anywhere with the likes of you." Tessai spread out his arms as he defended his Queen.

"I'm afraid we didn't come here to ask for her nicely." Number 28 scoffed. "You don't have anyone in your little camp who can possibly defeat one of us.

"Who do you think your talking to young brat?" Tessai flexed his arms as he charged forward punching the Arrancar to the ground.

"Tessai no!" Kaede was held back by Ren.

"Run now while I hold them-GAH!" Tessai choked on his final words as he felt something punch right through his chest. When he looked down at the masked Diclonii he could see crimson rain was splashing across her face – and unfortunately for himself, he was the bloody raincloud. When he noticed the giant hole in his chest, poking through his heart like a hollows, he knew he would finally retire from his long and prosperous life fighting hollows and protecting the humans.

He turned back slowly as he faced Kaede, Yuzu and the other children who made up this last sanctuary of humanity's existence. He then faced Ren and smiled.

_The children will live to see the sun rise once again..._

"TESSAI NO!" Yuzu rushed out and started rocking the giant man, hopelessly trying to revive the large shell.

"I believe he was supposed to be your strongest one around." Number 28 sadistically regarded. "So now do you realise your-" Number 28 was silenced by a blast of red energy as it collided with her shoulder. "Tch. Who did that?"

Ren's shoulders heaved as she tried holding back the tears she had shed for Tessai. "No more...I don't want to see anymore blood shed, I will stop you!" But before Ren could charge up another kido ball she felt Kaede's gentle hand against her shoulder.

"That's enough Ren..." Kaede said with a smile of sadness. She then faced the murderous pink-haired demoness. "I will come with you."

"Queen!" Kurama, Urahara and the other soldiers stood behind her in shock.

"I'm fine with this decision. I know where my destiny lies in this world. If I can save these children's lives, then I will gladly sacrifice my life in the process."

"Kaede no!" Ren grabbed her hand like a stubborn child as she tried to keep her from going. But Kaede smiled again as she gazed at the young girl with shimmering eyes.

"Please don't throw your life away young Ren. You have a much greater purpose in this world – I can sense it." And with those words of little comfort or assurance, the majestic princess gave herself up to the masked witches.

"KAEDE NO!"

"If I come with you..." Kaede stressed her words as she stepped through the Hearts ranks and held her two hands out towards her captors. "Will you promise never to hurt any of these people again?"

It almost seemed like a fruitless promise but Kaede needed to at least have some closure...some faith that they would stick to their word.

Number 28 offered the tiniest nod of her boned head when she answered. "Of course."

Kaede could smile one last time when she heard those words. "Thank goodness then..." She turned back to the group of humans she had known and cherished as her very own offspring. "Goodbye everyone, may my sacrifice bring the peace back to this land."

"KAEDE NO! They are lying! They will only hurt us again and again until we're all wiped out!" Ren pleaded to the motherly natured woman as she felt Kurama and Urahara's arms pull her back. "No I can't just stand by and let her be taken by these monsters!" Ren screamed and cried until her voice was hoarse. Felt the power swelling in her hands – she believed she could save her, but she knew she couldn't use it, not after hearing Kaede's words.

"_Please don't throw your life away young Ren. You have a much greater purpose in this world"_

But the burning red energy would involuntarily return, licking her hands like flames. But just before she could release her rage onto the masked demons they had already vanished with Kaede quite literally in a loud flash.

"Why? Why did she have to sacrifice herself in vain?" Ren felt her body becoming limp as she remained supported by the two men, her head slumped forward as she watered the hot sand with her tears of grief. "I barely had the chance to know her, and now she's gone..."

"Come now Ren, you should get some rest now." The bespectacled Six of Hearts carried her back inside.

As she was taken back in the main tent, she caught a brief glimpse of Urahara and Ururu kneeling by each side of the slain Tessai. Ururu's long hair draped over the giant man's body as she wailed over his corpse; the older man just sat by with a worn out frown – a frown which had wrinkled and aged his face from seeing far too much death and sadness over the years.

"So long, friend." She could hear the hat wearing scientist say as he rested his hat over the hole in his chest.

Overwhelmed by the loss of two great souls, Ren's vision once again succumbed to the dark abyss.

…

MEANWHILE IN AN UNKNOWN LOCATION;

The King of Spades resided upon his ivory throne which had been build upon a foundation of the many bones and skulls of those who had died in the Two World's impact.

Another of his lower ranked Masked-Diclonii appeared before him using a fast movement known as Sonido. "My Lord, I can now confirm that the Second Fragment has now been obtained."

The King smiled as he rubbed his hand against the stubble of his chin. "Splendid." He uncrossed his legs as he stood in front of his throne, facing the two columns of Diclonii-Arrancar that lined the corridor of the throne-room. "We're just one small girl away from creating our Utopia..."

…

Ichigo choked in shock as the blood splashed his face. He had thought for a moment that he had well and truly felt the Grim Reapers blade pierce his body, but instead discovered the Ace of Diamond's white haori was now being dyed a much deadlier colour.

"Byakuya!" Ichigo stumbled on his hands and feet as the former captain collapsed to his knees.

"What is..." Byakuya had lost his words in the confusion of his mysterious wound. He dipped his hand into his stomach where a hole had been torn through the entire body.

"Look out!" Ichigo was now finding himself trying to save the pride-filled Captain as he tackled the Diamond warrior to the ground just as a column of vibrating air sawed its way past the pair. "It's them!"

Ichigo and Byakuya's skirmish would be halted by the arrival of an army of giant mutants and masked angels of death. One of the masked angels stood forth as she stared down her two prey with menacing yellow eyes.

Ichigo gulped as he faced his former love which had now been possessed by the hollow darkness. "Lucy..."

…

"**...I am just one small girl away from becoming the God of the New World."**

* * *

The King of Spades: Supreme Lord of the Masked-Diclonii now possesses two of the fragments of the Original Diclonius...Will he obtain the third from Ichigo as well? And what does he truly wish to accomplish by obtaining the three fragments? Don't miss the next epic chapter!**  
**


	13. Anstieg und Fall

_Verse 13_

_Our hearts become stained in darkness..._

_Bound by thorny vines, our hearts ache with every beat._

…

"King Shunsui! King Shunsui! WAAGH!" A nervous voice came tumbling into the lab. Her rather disastrous landing which had exposed the love heart pattern panties underneath her labcoat ruining the serious mood in the room.

"Arakawa-chan, what brings you in here my sweetheart." Shunsui had suddenly ceased his battle with Nyu as he went over to help up his researcher like a gentleman would.

"Sorry for intruding on your battle but..." Arakawa picked up her glasses, making sure they were on straight. "A large horde of Masked-Diclonii have begun raiding our headquarters."

"Darn, I must be the most popular guy in the post-apocalypse." Shunsui regarded quite light-heartedly as he helped the bespectacled female scientist to her feet. "Now even the demon chicks want to hook up with-AGH!" Shunsui's chauvinistic boasts were swiftly silenced by his Queen's elbow to the head.

"How dare you try and imagine one of your perverted harems at a time like this." Nanao scoffed at him as if he were a mischievous teenage boy.

"Sorry my dear Nanao-chan, you'll still be in my top two anyway-GAGH!" Shunsui's foot was now feeling the taste of Nanao's harsh justice. "Well sometimes you can be ahead of Arakawa-AGH! OKAY! OKAY! YOU'RE MY NUMBER ONE NANAO CHAN!"

"Humph, honestly for someone who's meant to be over 800 years old you have the mind of an eighteen year old." Nanao turned her back.

"Um...So does this mean you will be fighting the Spade's army now?" Nyu interrupted the awkward scene.

Shunsui gave the horned girl a wink as he sheathed his swords. "Looks like you're lucky miss, I was just about to get serious when we were interrupted."

Nyu smirked as she picked up the injured Nana. "Hehe...I was just about to get serious too."

…

RUMBLE.

"What was that?" Komamura shook under the force of what felt like a mini earthquake. A group of soldiers rushed over to the fox-man to convey an urgent message.

"Commander Komamura! We are under attack by the Spades Army."

"Them too?" Komamura's canines were clearly visible in his shocked reaction.

"What will you do now Captain?" Hisagi limped over, carrying Tatsuki over one shoulder. "Can we fight together like old times?"

Komamura twitched his nose as he pondered his decision. "Under these circumstances, I believe your assistance would be quite useful."

"You always liked finding new ways of saying, 'yes' didn't you Captain Komamura?" Hisagi grabbed the fox-man's giant hand as they began to move out and face the real threat.

…

Ichigo and Byakuya had suddenly found themselves covering each others backs as they faced the oncoming Hollow-Diclonii horde.

"They've even brought over their grunts." Ichigo mentioned as he noticed the large monstrosities that were the result of the failed fusion between Hollow and Diclonii DNA.

Lucy waved an arm forward signifying the lower level Hollow-Diclonii hybrids to attack.

"GUEERRGH!" Ichigo charged into the crowd of fangs and horns, slicing up the beasts as if he were slicing up the regular hollows back in Karakura Town. "C'mon!" Ichigo pumped himself up as he slashed off their limbs and stabbed into their eyes and other weak points.

Byakuya remained far more reserved in his slugfest. His smooth flowing sword strokes didn't give any hint that he had been seriously injured in the gut.

"Hey, now I can't let you take all the glory." Ichigo laughed as he clung onto another beasts horns with one arm before slicing across the side of its face – slaying it instantly.

Byakuya continued weaving and cutting down more of the horned beasts as Ichigo hacked and slashed his way through the army. But soon Ichigo was halted by Lucy's sudden return to the frontlines.

"GAH!" Ichigo tumbled backwards onto the sand, using his black sword to recover. "Lucy!" Ichigo struggled to bring himself to try and attack this opponent, even though he knew this was the complete evil manifestation of Lucy's soul, somehow he still viewed the Arrancar as the original pink haired girl he had grown to love.

"You fool Ichigo!" Byakuya scorned the fiery haired boy as if he were his own Lieutenant from soul Society. "The Arrancar are converging on your position!"

"CRAP!" Ichigo rolled out of a sudden blast of sand as he dodged the invisible hammer strikes of several Masked-Diclonii. These girls appeared much more human in appearance compared to the Hollow class hybrids but judging by the asymmetrical and multiple (sometimes even only one) eye holes in their masks, Ichigo deduced that these were probably Gillian-class Diclonii-Arrancar.

Ichigo rolled out of one of the Diclonius' invisible strike before he ducked down and swept his foot under her legs, knocking her down to her feet. Before she could recover, Ichigo quickly stabbed his sword into her abdomen, spraying blackish blood over her naked body. He quickly removed the sword as two others pounced with their vectors. Ichigo hacked down their legs before slashing diagonally across one's chest. The other one grabbed his arms with her vectors whilst another two slowly advanced for the kill.

"Shit I can't move!" Ichigo struggled as he tried freeing himself from the transparent ropes that bound him. But just before the two mutants could sink their 'hands' into their prey one of the mutants head exploded whilst the other one was shot in the side of her head.

Ichigo glanced to his right and found his white haired saviour. "Nyu!"

"I thought the father was suppose to save the daughter..." Another voice called out.

"Shunsui?" Ichigo recognised the former Captain as he held two trophy girls by each side.

"Reckless as always young Ichigo." The giant fox-man also came out of the headquarters with a new wave of soldiers.

"Reinforcements." Ichigo's relief quickly turned back into the dire reality when he noticed the other Diclonius still had him restrained and was about to slice of his head.

GLUSH. A sword pierced through the back of her head and out of one of her three eyes. "Byakuya, thanks for saving me."

"Now you owe me a proper rematch boy." Byakuya maintained his pride as he returned to fighting the small fry (which were in fact the large beastly hybrids). "So don't let yourself be killed until then..."

Ichigo swayed his head left and right as he noticed Shunsui and Komamura taking the two flanks of the Hollow-Diclonii, backed up by an impressive number of soldiers. As they pelted the enemy with their bullets or chopped them into bite sized pieces with their swords, Ichigo's spirit grew in confidence when he finally realised...

_...This alliance against the Spades is official..._

"C'mon King Ichigo, stop spacing out." Hisagi came over to Ichigo's right side and offered a taunting smile before he leapt onto another oncoming Hollow.

"Yeah Ichigo, you're gonna let me beat you again." A roughed up looking Tatsuki grinned as she jumped onto another enemy on Ichigo's left, cracking open its mask with her fist before plucking out its purple eyes.

"Looks like we finally have a winning chance, father." Ichigo turned back throughout the human vs hollow melee to find Nyu holding an injured Nana around her shoulders. "Let's finish these ones off so we can head back home and tell everyone the good news dad."

Ichigo smiled as he gave his Diclonii daughter the thumbs up. "Yeah!"

…

LATER ON:

The battle had been a roaring success with no human casualties. By the time most of the hollow-class Diclonii had been cleared, the tiny band of Menos-class Diclonii-Arrancar had begun their retreat. Ichigo remembered seeing Lucy turn her back before she and the other Arrancar vanished in Sonido; the way she turned in that brief second, it almost appeared as if she were carrying some sort of regret or sadness.

_Could Lucy's Instinct also feel such emotions?_ Ichigo pondered as the Hearts and a few of the Diamonds headed back to the Hearts camp on horseback.

"I look forward to seeing your Hearts camp." Komamura said to the fiery haired Heart's leader.

"Yeah, if we can consolidate both our forces, then we can finally take on these damn Spades and end the violence for good." Ichigo said with enthusiasm.

"Ugh...I think I'm gonna be sick." Arakawa struggled with the constant motion of a horse and was lying on her saddle. "Hey do you guys have running water by the way? I could REALLY go for a shower right about now."

"Commander Komamura." Genjobi rode up alongside his commander. "Does this not detract us from our original objective?"

Komamura laughed lightly as he turned to his subordinate. "Let's just see this as an opportunity to eliminate one of our other major objectives – eliminating the Hollow-Diclonii."

The dull sand filled sky was now beginning to fade into further darkness – indicating that night was about to befall the group. It wasn't much longer before they had returned to the camp before night completely smothered the scorched earth.

Ichigo and the small band of followers he had gathered on his brief mission away from the hearts camp entered the camp with high spirits, but they were greeted with nothing more than despair and devastated souls.

"What's happened here? We were only gone for the day but..." Ichigo noticed from the villagers trudging movements and lowered heads that a tragedy had indeed unfolded in the small camp during his absence.

Ichigo and Nyu were the first to dismount their horses and enter the main tent. Their vision was immediately confronted by what appeared to me a large vigil inside the tent. A number of villagers circled what appeared to be a large body that had been covered in a white sheet. In the centre of the vigil was a girl with draping pigtails and rosy cheeks.

"First Jinta has to go, but now Tessai must leave me too?" Ururu sobbed as she laid another flower on the giant's resting body.

"Ururu, everyone, what happened here?" Ichigo was shocked. "Don't tell me that's..."

"While you were away King." Kurama came over from another room. "The Spades raided our main camp." His glasses had become fogged with burden. "Tessai fought for this village until his last breath."

Ichigo was speechless, he could only mouth the word 'why' as he gazed over towards the fallen warrior who he had become acquainted with at the shop Urahara used to run.

"I'm afraid that's not all King..." Kurama continued conveying the bad news. "Unfortunately the Spades have taken-"

"NYU! ICHIGO!" Ren burst into the room when she heard their arrival, she hugged Nyu as she continued sobbing. "It was terrible, they took...They took her away!"

"Who did they take away?' Ichigo inquired as he began dreading the answer.

And his dreading became all to much to bear when he heard Ren say the name: "It was Kaede...They took Kaede..."

…

MEANWHILE:

Lucy was the last to return to the Spades after an order of retreat had been sent by the King through their advanced telepathic communication. She Sonidoed into the throne-room standing before her King.

"Welcome back my dear Queen." The King said with his arrogant tone as always. "I thought you might like to be part of this occasion." The King waved a hand for another group to come forth.

Number 28 and three other Masked-Diclonii escorted Kaede into the throne-room. They stopped in front of the mighty ruler of the Diclonii-Arrancar as the King greeted his guest. "I hope they weren't too rough-handling when they brought you here."

Kaede spoke out to the depraved leader. "What do you intend to do with me, King of the Spades?"

The black-haired King's smirk rose as he answered his defiant guest. "Never you worry yourself about that my dear..." The King scratched his stubble as he continued. "...and please, you can just call me Kakuzawa."


	14. Die Aufhebung des Endvorhangs

_Verse 14_

_Another soul departs..._

…

THE NEXT MORNING:

Ichigo and the rest of the camp received barely any shut-eye that night. Overwhelmed by the loss of two great people: Tessai Tsukabishi, a kind-hearted and generous guardian of the Hearts Village; and Kaede Kurosaki, a mother figure for all the children and Ichigo's beloved wife.

Perhaps what made Kaede's disappearance more tragic for Ichigo was the fact that she was now suffering at the hands of the Spades clan. He could only imagine the sort of pain or torment they must be putting her through at the moment. Cold and heartless beasts had taken her, so why would they show any mercy, the Hearts leader thought.

To make matters worse, provisions were running low so everyone had to sustain themselves for the rest of the day with only a small meal of bread and plain pancakes. Since it had never rained since the Two Worlds Impact, the village had to rely on groundwater deep underneath the barren surface. However the aquifers were now drying on empty and so the entire camp would need to be relocated to a new source of groundwater.

"Our headquarters still has plenty of supplies." Komamura mentioned as Ichigo and a few soldiers gathered outside the main camp. "After seeing the current state of your villagers, I could not possibly forgive myself if I saw them starve. We shall relocate your camp into our base so we can plan our assault on the Spades."

"Thanks." Ichigo seemed grateful yet still saddened by Kaede's absence. "Kurama, please inform the villagers to collect their belongings, we'll be evacuating this place and move our camp into the Diamonds headquarters.

"Yes King." Kurama bowed as he went over to some of the nearby tents and conveyed the news.

"Yuzu." Ichigo called over his younger sister who was nearby. "What is the status of the injured?"

Mayu came out of the infirmary tent and answered instead. "Karin seems to have almost fully recovered, Nana and Tatsuki's injuries are also no longer serious."

"Thank goodness." Ichigo still couldn't seem to find the confidence in his voice. "Most of our people should be fully mobile now, Nyu and Nana can use their vectors to help transport the frail or ill."

"Yes King Kurosaki." Mayu nodded as she returned to the infirmary.

"Now it's only a matter of Urahara's research equipment that needs attending to." Ichigo walked over to one of the smaller tents adjacent to the main camp with Komamura and a few other soldiers following.

"That's a brilliant idea! But will it really work?" Ichigo could hear the Diamond's scientists Arakawa was very excited about something.

"Well it's a long shot but our chances of victory will increase a hundredfold of I can pull it off." Urahara responded until he noticed Ichigo entering the room. "Oh hey there?"

"How's it going Urahara?" Ichigo said with the fire absent from his voice. "I'm sorry for Tessai's loss."

Urahara sighed deeply as he spun around on his chair. "Tessai was a great friend, but I can't waste my mind on sentimental thoughts...I've just been having a little chat with this beautiful young lady here."

"Oh you..." Arakawa blushed at the hat-n-clog's comment. "I'm hardly beautiful but thanks anyway."

"It sounded like you two were coming up with something." Komamura mentioned. "Do you know how we can beat the Spades?"

Arakawa tipped her glasses as she gave a little wink. "~It's a secret"

"I see, well anyway we're going to relocate our base of operations into the Diamonds headquarters, so gather any materials you need before we go."

"Oh I don't need to bring any of this junk with me for what I've planned." Urahara said with a confident smile. "But I will need to take a brief detour to Mayuri's lab on the Clubs former campsite if you don't mind."

"Very well." Ichigo showed that he still had trust in the former shopkeeper. "Okay let's move out so we can reach the Diamonds base before sundown."

…

LATER ON – SPADE'S CASTLE:

Number 28 stood before her King with another message. "My Lord, it would appear the Human clans are preparing to form an alliance against us."

The Vizard Kakuzawa grinned in amusement as he pondered a possible offensive against his Diclonii-Arrancar army. "Very well, we shall let them fritter away their final moments on my terms...And they shall bring the last fragment to me, mwhahaha..."

…

DIAMONDS HEADQUARTERS – MEETING ROOM:

The entire forces of the Diamonds and Hearts clans gathered into the the tiny briefing room as Ichigo stood in front of the crowd, outlining their battle plan.

"As you are all well aware of by now, the Spades army we're up against is no ordinary enemy, they are of course the powerful hybrids of Arrancar and Diclonii, essentially each one of them is the equivalent of fighting a Diclonius, a Menos Grande, and a Shinigami at the same time. I must admit, this is going to be an almost impossible battle, but we must fight, as the last remnants of humanity on this earth, we must find a way to win over these demons who have raved our land."

Most of the crowd seemed less than confident with the idea of going up against such an army. One conscientious objector spoke out "These guys sound too powerful for us humans, why the hell are we gonna run straight into a suicide mission?"

"Yeah, maybe if we just stay here they'll leave us alone anyway."

"Don't begin to doubt yourselves now." Ichigo tried to pull back the crowd's morale. "If we don't fight them on our terms we'll just be sitting ducks for them to keep invading us!"

"Who does this guy think he is telling us Diamonds what to do?" Some more angry voices drowned out Ichigo's words.

"YEAH! GO HOME! SCREW THIS!" The crowd become more agitated until.

SMASH. The sound of Nyu's pounding vectors quickly startled the crowd as they looked towards the white-haired angel of death. "You humans are so pathetic, if you all just want to camp here and wait to either get killed by those Arrancar or die of starvation then you can all go ahead...I'll just go and fight them all myself then...At least for once you humans will be grateful for a Diclonius for once!" The furious Diclonius was about to storm off when...

"Wait Nyu." The gentle but assertive voice came from none other than Ren Su. "Let...let me fight them with you..."

Nyu offered a weak smile as she heard another voice call out from the crowd. "Nana wants to fight too!"

"If Nana is going them I'm going!" Mayu soon declared."

"I better go and protect Nana and the others too." Kuruma stood up, adjusting his low spectacles.

"As the final member of the Noble Kuchiki, I cannot allow myself to be absent from this final battle." Byakuya vowed with his high pride.

"I'll join you Byakuya." Komamura rested his hand on his fellow Gotei 13 Captain's shoulder.

"Hey me too." Hisagi jumped out of his seat.

"And me." Tatsuki followed suit. "I'm gonna give these hollow or Diclonii or whatever a bruising they'll never forget."

"Me too!"

"Yeah me too!"

"YEAH" and soon enough the entire crowd seemed to have found their spirit again, everyone now willing to take part in the final battle for the fate of humanity.

Ichigo was overwhelmed with joy. To see the smiles and confidence in everyone's hearts that even he couldn't generate. His eyes caught his daughter's in the crowd and he gave her a thumbs up of approval.

_Well done, Nyu..._

Nyu smiled back at her fiery haired father.

_Let's get 'em...Dad..._

"~Oohoo how naughty, we should save some of that for later..." Arakawa sounded quite flirtatious with her fellow counterpart researcher as the two of them returned from the Clubs' ruins.

"Oh, uh, it's not really what it sounds like." The slimy old Urahara tried defending himself.

"My dear Arakawa." Shunsui began frowning over his fleeing fledgeling. "Have you already fallen for another ma-OW!" But his grief was silenced by his aggressive Queen Nanao.

"Just when the hell was _she _ever yours?" Nanao bunched a fist in anger as Shunsui scurried away in a corner somewhere.

"Sorry it's just." Arakawa made a high pitched squeal as she coiled her arms around the greying man. "I just love a man who's..._smart..._"

"So...uh Urahara..." Ichigo tried to bring the main subject back to the fore. "Did you find anything useful from Mayuri's lab?"

"Not quite, but I did obtain some vital information from my old friend." Urahara continued. "I was able to upload some of Mayuri's memories on a computer underneath the main camp."

"I didn't really enjoy scooping up that guy's milkshake remains though..." Arakawa contributed.

"Yes, well in order to communicate with Mayuri, we had to obtain what was left of his body and sync it with the device." Urahara explained. "What he told me confirmed my own theory about the Spade's location."

"Go on..." Ichigo asked with keen interest.

"From what Mayuri told me..."

…

A FEW HUNDRED METRES OUTSIDE OF SPADE'S CASTLE

The ivory pillars towered over the relatively tiny group of humans, Diclonii and Shinigami gathered outside the main entrance. The imposing structure reminded Ichigo of the castle Las Noches where he fought the Espada in Hueco Mundo.

"So this is it...Our final battlefield..."

"Do you really think it will work?" Nyu walked over to her father's side.

Ichigo looked ahead towards the roofless abode. "It has to, I have to believe in Urahara's words and I have to believe in you..." Ichigo ruffed her daughter's hair. "And I want everyone to believe in each other, and never give up hope..." Ichigo roared back to his army. "We WILL defeat them! This will NOT be our final resting grounds!"

"YEAH!"

The humans and humanoids seemed to have gathered the attention of their hosts for this bloody feast. As demon like monsters rose from the ground and masked angels of death descended from the Castle's walls, the final showdown between the forces of light and darkness was about to begin.

"Okay everyone, on my signal we show them the power of humanity." Ichigo gripped his jet black sword as it began shimmering with a sudden flow of energy. "**One...Two...GETSUGA TENSHOU**!"

* * *

The final showdown between the humans and Diclonii-Arrancar begins...But how was Ichigo able to produce a Getsuga Tenshou? What did Urahara discover from Mayuri's memory...And most importantly, do the Human's, Diclonii and Shinigami finally stand a chance to defeat this evil menace and free the land once and for all? Don't miss some of the last few chapters of the epic Two Worlds's Trilogy!


	15. Vorabend unseres Untergangs

**Though this story's hits have been pretty low, I'm now really pumped to finish this off once and for all. I've probably got another two or three chapters left to do before this Trilogy finally reaches its long and glorious close. For now enjoy the latest chapter!_  
_**

_Verse 15_

_As the curtains draws..._

_The final act begins..._

_..._

"**One...Two...GETSUGA TENSHOU!**"

"RRRRAAAAGGGHH"

"_**GRAAAAOOOWWW"**_

Ichigo's moon slicing attack carved a huge column through the Hollow-Diclonii ranks. The humans began fighting in their spectacular final battle against the monsters who had oppressed them throughout the land.

"GEEEEAAARRGGH!" Ichigo drove his blade deep into one lowly hollow's skull, twisting the blade out as he slashed into another oncoming one.

"Nice work Dad!" Nyu backed her father up as she punched some holes into the grunt class monsters with her vectors, whilst she would also unleash her pistol onto some of the other oncoming monsters.

"You know how to make your father proud don't you Nyu?" Ichigo had enough time to smile for his beloved daughter before driving his sword into the large gut of another monster.

"We'll finish this together." Nyu offered a confident grin as the white haired angel of death launched herself into the air, before firing down another volley of bullets onto a dozen more hollows.

"Mayu are you alright?" Meanwhile Nana was taking on some hollows with Mayu.

"Yeah I think I'm getting used to this." Mayu seemed to be able to fire some purple energy out of her hands. Many of the other humans seemed to have unlocked latent powers of their own once entering the battle.

"Mayu watch out!" Nana ran over and sliced the oncoming limbs of one particular hybrid. Nana quickly finished this one of by driving her invisible blades directly up its entire body until it was completely bisected. "Hey I think my vectors might have gotten stronger as well!"

Nana was so impressed with herself, she didn't even notice the relatively small moth-like hollow about to descend upon her. Luckily her petite human friend was able to clean this one up with another blast of energy from her hands. "Heehee, you've never changed, have you Nana?"

Nana grinned embarrassingly as she realised she was saved once again by Mayu. "Tehee...Thanks."

"EAT THIS!" The fiery Tatsuki was literally heating things up as she delivered a knock-out punch with her fire-balled fists. She charged up another pair of fireballs on her hands as she unleashed the inferno rage upon two more oncoming Hollow-Diclonii. "Piece of cake these guys are."

"Great job Lady Tatsuki." some of the lower ranked Shinigami from the diamonds clan were also impressed by this humans increased power. The Shinigami were now able to fight these hollow on even terms thank to this surge in spiritual power.

"SCATTER...SENBONZAKURA..."

"ROAR...TENKEN!"

"FLOWER WIND RAGE AND FLOWER GOD ROAR, HEAVENLY WIND RAGE AND HEVENLY DEMON SNEER...KATEN KYOUKOTSU!"

"REAP...KAZESHINI!"

The four Shinigami began their assault against the mutant Diclonii ranks. "It's good to finally be able to use these again." Shunsui regarded as he spun around with his two large blades, easily cutting down hollows like paper.

"Yes, it has been quite a while since I let out my true sword." Komamura mentioned as he summoned a giant blade from the air to crush a column of hollow.

"HUARGH!" Hisagi threw his double bladed scythes into a crowd of hollows, he retried one scythe using the chain attachment before swinging the reaper into another oncoming hollow, poking the blade right into it's pure black eye before it disintegrated just like the hundred of others before it.

"Enough games, let us end this trivial war for good." Byakuya was hardly enjoying himself, rather he just wanted to get through this last battle as the thousand tiny cherry blossom blades diced through another three hollow.

"C'mon Byakuya, we may never get a chance to fight an enemy like this again." Shunsui stirred up his comrade as he dug one of his blades into another large horned beast. "So enjoy the battle while it lasts."

"Haurgh! Hah! Hyah!" Karin cut down more of the hollow enemies as she saddled onto a horse. She turned back to the small band of Hearts followers she still commanded and roared out to them. "These beasts are scattered and confused! Let's run them down!" Her words further empowering the humans as they sliced, fired or simply tore their way through the enemy.

"I really am quite impressed at the extent to which their powers were able to come back." Urahara mentioned as he and a group of other non-combatants observed from just a short distance away in the Diamonds Headquarters

"Yes, we could really stand a chance this time." Arakawa nuzzled her head against Urahara's shoulder.

"Yeah, I do hope we can win..." Urahara said with a softer tone. "And I should really thank you too, Ms. Ren Su, or should I say Ms Unohana."

Ren looked back up to the scruffy scientist from her seated position. "Oh, not at all, if I have been a great help, then that's good enough."

"Mmm..." Urahara nodded as they returned to watching the battle carefully ready for when any of them may need to make their move.

…

"_From what Mayuri told me...the Spade's base of operations is in fact the remains of the former Las Noches castle from Hueco Mundo."_

"_Well it's a wonder we've never seen such a large thing over the horizon."_

"_Ahh Ichigo, but here's the interesting thing about the Masked-Hollows location...You see, even though the worlds had been fused in the Two Worlds impact, the leader of the Diclonii-Arrancar was able to maintain a separate dimension for Las Noches."_

"_Wait, how is that even possible?"_

"_The power of vectors can be truly amazing if unlocked...They can tear a world apart, or weave a new one...That is what Kakuzawa's Son was able to discover during his time in Hueco Mundo."_

"_So basically to get to his base-"_

"_That is correct, we have to summon it."_

"_But none of us have any powers anymore, we're just mortals now, we can't do anything like that!"_

"_Thankfully that devious Mayuri had already anticipated such a scenario from the onset. I'm afraid I must give my hat to that man too...He knew that there had to be a way to stop this great threat...And that's where our young Ren comes into the picture."_

"_Me? But as far as I recall Mayuri just wanted to kill me."_

"_His methods are quite unorthodox I have to admit, but according to his memories, he was actually hoping to obtain a large concentration of your reiryoku to find a way into the Spades' world. Unfortunately, he could not find any way to use it to summon the world and ultimately failed in his project."_

"_So what would you like me to do..." _

"_Ms. Su, you are one of the only people left in this world who has been able to use Shinigami powers, do you know why that is? Because when Mayuri wounded you that time, he had deliberately left a small reservoir of reiryoku in your body, an insignificant amount that would not have been lost after the Two Worlds impact, but not enough to grant you any great powers either...You were able to unlock some of your powers over time through battles and life threatening situations and consequently have developed enough reiryoku to summon this extra-dimensional space._

"_Amazing, so Ren can help us enter their little universe then...But there's still one more problem...How are we gonna fight these guys on even terms?"_

"_Now I'm glad you asked that because that was the second major revelation I found out from Mayuri...You see the reason why Kakuzawa had to cut off his world from the rest was so he could essentially maintain a sanctuary of spiritual particles for his Hollow-Diclonii army, that was the only way they could truly maintain their hollow powers during the Two Worlds Impact, there is about as much reishi and reiryoku packed in there as Soul Society and Hueco Mundo put together."_

"_Crap..."_

"_And it goes without saying, that when we summon this extra-dimensional space, were going to unleash a hell of a lot of spiritual energy onto the nearby area. But our empty spiritual vessels that are our bodies are going to harness that energy so we can-"_

"_Get back our Shinigami powers! HELL YEAH!"_

…

"GETSUGA...TENHOU!" Ichigo released his load of sharp spiritual pressure onto another whole row of hollow-hybrids. "Yes, were getting closer to the castle now!"

The former Shinigami captains were also leading the advance, slicing through the hollows ranks. Even though the humans had been grossly outnumbered from the start, they seemed to have taken advantage of their unlocked powers and were now pushing back the hollows.

"Yes that's the way!" Ichigo cheered on his army as the main entrance was now less than a hundred metres away. The hollow class hybrids continued pouring out of the main gate whilst the Arrancar class ones had barely moved from their position.

"When are those one's going to attack?' Nyu wondered as they reached closer to their position.

"**Well done all of you for advancing this far...**" Suddenly a booming voice spread across the battlefield. Ichigo could see a man in black robes standing atop the highest walls of Las Noches. "**I hope you have enjoyed your last precious moments of resistance.**" Though it was quite hard to make out any details, Ichigo could tell he was holding a person next to him.

The other person screamed a name which carried itself all the way down the castle, striking deep into the soul of that person.

"ICHIGO!"

"KAEDE!"

"MOTHER!"

"ICHIGO, NYU MY SWEETHEART, PLEASE RUN AWAY! NOW!"

"KAEDE!" Ichigo would defy her wishes and began the long ascent, flying up the immense castle heights so he could reach his beloved.

"MOTHER! FATHER!" Nyu began climbing up the wall with her vectors trailing behind her Substitute Shinigami of a guardian.

"**That's it, come both of you...Let's have one last family reunion before I become the God of the New World! MWAHAHAHA!**"

"YYYOOUUU BAAASSSTTAAAARRRDDD!" Ichigo's rage echoed across the battlefield as he flew further up the castle, and with the momentum and force of a jet fighter, there was no stopping this man's path for vengeance.

"STOP...EN...E...MY!" Several masked Diclonii had in fact Sonidoed over to stop Ichigo from reaching their King but Ichigo was not going to let these insignificant Diclonii-Arrancar stop him.

"**GGGUUUEEEERRRAAAGGGHH!"** Ichigo donned his old hollow mask as he sent a deadly wave of red energy towards the Arrancar. Five of them were vaporised on impact but another two on the edges had just survived thanks to their vectors. Ichigo slashed down once then another time – both had their bodies sliced in two and were slain instantly.

Now there was only one enemy left.

One person who he truly had to destroy.

The person who had taken away his home.

The person who had inflicted misery on so many people.

The person who had manipulated Lucy - who held Kaede in his grasp.

The one person who Ichigo could truly say**...had to die.**

"**KAKUZAWAAAAA!"**

* * *

To free the last remnants of the Two Worlds from the ongoing plague of despair and destitution, Ichigo must slay this last opponent. But is the Vizard version of Kakuzawa Junior an opponent more formidable than Ichigo can manage? And what will Lucy do to protect her King? Don't miss the next truly epic chapter!


	16. Requiem fur Zwei Welten

_Verse 16_

_The Angel of death swoops down..._

_And claims the last few souls..._

_Like picking flowers from a garden..._

_The winged reapers sow the seeds of destruction..._

…

Ichigo propelled himself up the menacing tower where his enemy had been watching the battle unfold. Now he was bringing the battle to him...Ready to end it in one strike.

"**GUUUEEEEAAAARRRGGHHH!**" Ichigo roared with enough fury to tear apart the very heavens as he reached the top. Dark energy was dripping off his sword as he was ready to release his ultimate attack on the observant Vizard.

"ICHIGO!" Kaede looked up at her saviour with shimmering eyes.

"**LET HER GO!**" Ichigo bellowed with a distorted growl behind his hollow mask as he hammered his blade down onto the Vizard.

But he couldn't reach him. Another Masked-Diclonii had appeared through Sonido and blocked his path to rescuing Kaede.

Ichigo stared into those four black holes on her otherwise perfectly smooth masked face. "**Why Lucy? Why can't you remember who I am?**"

The Arrancar simply ignored Ichigo's hollowfied pleas as the Diclonius pushed him back with her invisible force.

"It's really quite useless Kurosaki Ichigo." The Vizard flaked a hand across his face, dissolving the mask and revealing his unkempt features. "She only listens to the voice of her DNA...The voice that tells her to destroy mankind..."

"**Screw you!**" Ichigo remained defiant even in his adult years as he tried to find a way past the Arrancar Lucy and only his real target. But Lucy was going to defend her King at all costs, nothing would make her will budge. "**LUCY! MOVE!**" Ichigo slammed his sword as it clashed against an invisible wall, he kept trying to break down that invisible wall until he noticed several red orbs forming around Lucy's body.

_She's forming multiple cero?_

ZZZZZWWOOOSSSSHH. The red orbs of destruction rained down upon Ichigo's position. Kaede's desperate cries for her beloved were muffled by the immense noise of the cero beam as it pulsed across the tower's heights. But when the beam finally dissipate, Ichigo appeared with most of his clothes tattered and burn marks across his arms. His distorted panting could be heard as he trudged forward, ready to continue the battle.

"Impressive...You withstood the force of several of Lucy's cero, even though your powers have only recently returned." The devious Kakuzawa observed. "But how much more can your mortal body withstand?"

Lucy, knowing her opponent had not been destroyed by her cero did not hesitate when she Sonidoed behind Ichigo, ready to puncture his body with her rogue vectors. Ichigo was able to keep up with her pace this time and began using Shunpo to avoid her sneak attacks. Ichigo flashed stepped twenty metres into the air before Lucy appeared just below him, about to slice off his feet with her vectors. Ichigo stepped up another few metres before Lucy Sonidoed back up to catch up with him. Ichigo released a small Getsuga Tenshou on her position but as she dodged the attack, Ichigo Shunpoed back down, closing the distance between them as he slashed across her chest, the fist time she ever had her own blood drawn from an opponent.

"Heh...So it seems I can cut you after all." As the mask blew off his face, Ichigo offered a warm smile to his opponent before he pulled back one arm and thrust it down upon Lucy's chest, the powerful melee attack sending the Diclonii-Arrancar plummeting back down to the ground of the tower, smashing through the floor and sending debris and dust into the air.

_Sorry Lucy, even if you're a hollow, I still can't kill you...Please just stay downstairs for a while._

"Your physical strength and stamina have improved beyond a human's levels – perhaps even surpassing a Captain of the Gotei 13..." Kakuzawa rubbed his chin as he held Kaede closer to his body with his other arm.

"Dammit Kakuzawa, just stop all of this...there's nothing left in this world, why do you want to destroy what little is left?" Ichigo threw his hands around in protest as he began pacing towards the man. "Just what the hell are you planning to accomplish anyway?"

A sly grin crept up the former professor's face as he began to answer. "I want to create a new world...A better world than this desolate wasteland..."

"You created this mess! How can you now say you want to create a better world?" Ichigo waved his sword arm in anger at this man's hypocrisy.

"Ahh...But you see a God can pick and choose which worlds he wants and doesn't want..." Ichigo's eyes began to widen with shock as he uttered those words. "You see, I had no use for Soul Society or the World of the Living for the World I'm after."

"You sound just like him..." Ichigo grit his teeth as he felt like he was confronting an all too similar enemy.

"**You mean Sosuke Aizen**?" Darkness enveloped Ichigo's mind as he recalled the man who had betrayed Soul Society and had become the cause of many lives lost in the Winter War. "That man was quite helpful for my plans in the end...I wish I could have still had the chance to thank him properly."

Ichigo stepped back as he chocked on his words. "You-you have met Aizen?"

Kakuzawa sighed as he recalled a seemingly long and distant memory. "Only once, back when both he and I were still in Soul Society. I was a newbie to the whole afterlife scene after my precious Lucy had taken it upon herself to end my mortal existence. But I was able to get hold of a Zanpakuto and soon enough joined the Fifth squad as a low seated officer."

Ichigo was becoming more and more paralysed with shock and outrage as he continued. "I had heard rumours from other fellow seated officers about Aizen's shady behaviour and collusions with the Third and Ninth Squad captains. I was keen to hear more from the man himself, but unsurprisingly, he wasn't too interested in a weakling like me." Kakuzawa lifted up his sword and gazed at his reflection on the shining steel. "Frustrated, I raised my blade against my own captain, which he blocked with his own hand...Obviously I was quite surprised about this, especially since he could have just as easily dodged or even blocked my strike. The way he smiled at me when he took that cut was as if he was trying to give me something...Then sometime later, I began experiencing these odd dreams and recollections of somebody else's life – as if I was reliving their very own memories..."

Kakuzawa rolled the handle of his blade around his hand as he began to talk about his own Zanpakuto... "This piece of metal, it's quite useless when you really think about it...I soon discovered what my Zanpakuto's ability was – and I must admit it really is quite a lame power...Compared to some which breath fire, cast blizzards, form into giant hammers or spears or beasts...No here's what my Zanpakuto's ability was."

Ichigo continued his gaze, unblinkingly as he watched the Vizard lift a finger in front of his narrow expression. "**My Zanpakuto steals the memories of anyone it cuts: Yumehoshu.**"

"Memories?" Ichigo said, still quite shocked at this seemingly unknown man's close ties with Aizen.

"Correct. Not very useful in the heat of a battle but a rather sneaky and nasty Zanpakuto if you wish to call it that. But Yumehoshu had revealed many of my Captains secret intentions...I knew about his plans for the Hogyoku right before any of you or your Soul Reaper buddies heard of them."

"H-how did you know about-"

"Remember our first little scuffle in Soul Society...I obtained your memories there too..."

Ichigo clenched his teeth in further anger. But Kakuzawa continued his self-indulgent rant. "Even though I didn't cut you directly, our swords did clash at least once that day...You see my Zanpakuto is always active – a bit like yours I guess...And when our blades locked, I made a small cut into your Zanpakuto, obtaining all his memories of battle and experiences against every friend or foe you ever encountered."

_No...This man...He knows all all about my memories in Soul Society and Hueco Mundo? His powers are just as bad...No they ARE far more evil than Aizen's..._

"How does it feel, always constantly trying to protect those ones closest to your heart, only to find that you must turn against them in every situation..." Kakuzawa's words were like tiny daggers, stabbing Ichigo's consciousness with each and every syllable. "Have you already forgotten about Orihime's final cries for mercy, or of your best friend Chad's last desperate struggle to stop you in your enraged hollow form."

_**NO!**_

"Ahh, you might have forgotten all about them, but they all appear to me as if it were just yesterday...**And your Zanpakuto's memories never lie...**"

_**NO! DON'T SAY IT! PLEASE DON'T SAY IT!**_

"**I know all about the gruesome fate your friends in Hueco Mundo suffered, at your very hands...**"

Suddenly Ichigo had remembered something he had tried to bury underneath his hollow mask for many years. Ichigo could no longer restrain himself as he charged towards his enemy, not even with Kaede in his grasp would Ichigo stop now...His blade was driven on a path of blood as it neared the memory snatching villain..."**NOOOOOOOOOO!**"

SPLOOTCH. Ichigo could feel the cold blood splash across his twisted face. But the sight of a young white haired angel blocking his path had brought Ichigo back to the light.

"Father...Please don't enter the darkness...We need you...to save us all..." Nyu slumped forward against her father's chest. Ichigo shivered at the sight of his own daughter bloodied from his own blade.

"Nyu...Why did you?"

Nyu looked back up to her father with ragged eyes and a weak smile. "Because I had to save Mother..."

Ichigo looked back towards his wife who had fainted from the overwhelming scene unfolding before her innocent eyes. _I was about to do the exact same thing to Kaede, and now I've hurt my own daughter as a result..._

"Don't worry about me Dad..." Nyu leaned back away from her father as she squeezed his arm with her hand. "I'll be fine, you know what you have to do..."

Ichigo began to shed tears as he witnessed his daughter become more and more like himself with each day, each hour, minute and second. "Thanks my precious Nyu, I would I'll never forgive myself if I were to hurt you or your Mother."

The brief moment of father-daughter bonding was rudely interrupted when the ground nearby began to crack open, Lucy had dug her way back to the roof of the tower and was now more eager to finish her prey than ever.

Nyu looked back to her father as she began to head towards the Arrancar fragment of the Original Diclonius. "Let me take care of her...You can rescue mum okay?"

Ichigo nodded as he could now focus on his enemy with no more distractions...The war was still unfolding down below on the sandy depths. Only one person had to be stopped now...Only one person that Ichigo had to kill...Only one person left between him and his beloved Kaede.

"You'd better hope that piece of metal does come in handy for you Kakuzawa..." Ichigo taunted his opponent as he raked his fingers across his face summoning his hollow mask."

"I have no need to worry Kurosaki." Kakuzawa casually responded as he lowered the unconscious Kaede to the floor and quickly waved a hand across his face to summon his own mask. "**The three fragments have finally reunited!**"

* * *

Don't miss the final verse of _Requiem fur Zwei Welten _and the long awaited conclusion to the Two Worlds Trilogy...Absoultely do not miss it!


	17. Ende der Zwei Welten

_Final Verse_

_**A lady of pure...a lady of death...a lady of persecution...a lady of misanthropy...**_

_**The horned angel descends...**_

_**The horned angel reveals her true form...shock and despair enters the realm of chaos...**_

_**The blue skies become stained in red, the green earth carved away...replaced with sand that rips the flesh from bone...**_

_**The fate of the world has been decided within a game of cards...**_

_**The world is stained with evil...**_

_**The memories we try to erase...**_

_**The requiem of the sandy plain...**_

_**To slay a God...**_

_**Old faces return...**_

_**The will to fight...**_

_**Driven to extinction...**_

_**Our hearts become stained in darkness...**_

_**Another soul departs...**_

_**As the curtains draws...**_

_**The Angel of death swoops down...**_

_**/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**_

There was no need to hold back anymore. Ichigo was straight into his opponent like a ravenous hound. His jet-black sword grinding against his own blade, sending scorching hot sparks between their faces. Behind those masks, both expressions couldn't offer a greater contrast: Ichigo's was one of great rage and determination to end the war, whilst Kakuzawa's was one of smugness and overconfidence – an expression which reminded the fiery haired young man all too much of Aizen.

"**GRRRAAGH!**" Ichigo pushed back from Kakuzawa as he went back in for another horizontal slash. But Kakuzawa held his sword with one arm as he stopped his side strike. Ichigo backed away again before he tried his other side, still finding no opening in this Vizard. Ichigo charged up the energy on the tip of his blade ready for another Getsuga Tenshou.

"**Getsuga-**" But he was silenced by the sound of Kakuzawa's Shunpo as he slashed across his back. "**AGHH!**"

Kakuzawa lifted his mask so he could reveal his darkened eyes. "I can recall all your battle tactics Kurosaki, the same old moves won't work on me anymore." Kakuzawa mentioned before he slipped his mask back on again.

...

"The enemy's numbers are dwindling..." Hisagi noted as the Mortal Alliance began reaching the main ranks of the enemy – the Masked-Arrancar.

"GRR!" Komamura held back the force of three Arrancar's vectors with his omnipotently large Shikai. "The Arrancars are a lot stronger than the ones we faced in the Winter War...The humans and lower ranked Shinigami should retreat." Komamura continued relaying his orders as he parried away their attack before trying to slice through their ranks. "These warriors are far too powerful for a regular human to handle."

But the spiritually empowered humans and Shinigami continued the advance towards the strongest warriors of the Spade's Army. "Don't worry commander..." Genjobi charged over towards his former Captain. "We'll stop them toge-"

The willing and loyal warrior of Komamura's former squad would never finish those words, his head flying off his body and landing into the soft sandy graveyard.

"GINJOBI!" Komamura growled with beastly rage as he raised his sword high into the air and uttered one very powerful word. "**BANKAI!**"

Komamura rose from the earth itself as a giant Golem was summoned from the ground. "KOKUJO TENGEN MYOU!"

"Komamura's already using his Bankai?" Byakuya shook his head as he used his supersonic flash step to stab into the chests of several Masked-Diclonii. Byakuya found that the speed, strength and vector ranges of these Arrancar varied greatly. Now he had found himself up against three pink-haired demons who could rival his speed. Byakuya tried to use his quick attack, but the air around him vibrated with the boom of a thousand rapid Sonidoes as the Diclonii surrounded him and tried converging their vectors on his position. Byakuya let out a hand, allowing it to be obliterated into tiny bony scraps as he located one of the Arrancar. "HADO 54...HAIEN!" With his other hand Byakuya called forth a destructive art kido spell, the purple arc of energy instantly vaporising one of the Diclonii.

The other two Diclonii Sonidoed to both his sides and charged into the centre position with their vectors. Byakuya appeared to have been impaled by their invisible spears but had in fact left behind an after-image of himself from using a special type of Shunpo. "HADO 33...SOKATSUI" The blue orb of energy burned a large hole in one of his other opponents. But the last one was now summoning several small bala on her invisible fingertips as she began pelleting the Shinigami captain with Arrancar rapid fire.

"BAKUDO 81...DANKU!" The tiny cero blasts seemed to just bounce off of the captain as if an invisible force field had been placed in front of him. When the Diclonii realised her attacks were not breaking through, she charged up a large cero in her vector hands. The giant beam of destruction shattered the shield like glass, but Byakuya had already vanished from behind it, appearing behind the Arrancar before she could react.

"Well done, you were all quite formidable opponent, but in the end..." Byakuya left her to ponder those lost words as he drove his blade into her stomach and up her body until it sliced out of her left shoulder. "I guess I was simply too fast for your invisible hands to ever reach me.

...

"Tch, Komamura's right, the Arrancar are a lot more powerful than I had thought." Hisagi struggled to hold back more wild vectors as he held back several more Arrancar. But he noticed the other's kept pushing towards the main enemy. "NO EVERYONE WITHDRAW! LET US CAPTAINS DEAL WITH THEM!"

Karin lead the assault as she commanded her Heart's soldiers to continue the offensive. "Let's show these monsters how powerful Humans really are!"

"_YEAH!"_

"_NO!"_

One Masked-Diclonii broke through the column of Arrancar, her rather unique features indicated that she was one of the strongest. "You pathetic humans are so blind as to charge into your own demise." The Arrancar formerly known as Number 28 waved her vectors towards her subordinates, the final order for complete extermination.

The horned-angels of death lifted of the ground like a flock of crows, soaring above the air, searching for their prey below.

"RUN AWAY!" Komamura tried to take on most of the clones with his giant Golem warrior but most of them went for the easy prey first. The Arrancar clawed their vectors into the much weaker humans, pulling out intestines and muscle tissue like it were mere wrapping paper. The crows began their feast upon the poor humans, ripping apart their limbs and tearing open their insides.

"NOOO!" Tatsuki's fire soon rose to an inferno as she incinerated a couple of Arrancar feasting on her comrades. "DIE YOU MONSTERS!" Tatsuki's powers were quite formidable for a human, but even she could not truly stand up to the pink-haired angel's final rapture.

"URGH!" She felt one of their hands piercing through her back, worming its way around her chest cavity until it burst out her chest, crushing her heart and lungs. Blood stained the tomboy's face as she tried sucking up her last gasps of air in this hopeless world. Her eyes became filled with bloody tears as she tried facing the tower, just so she could see Ichigo's fiery orange hair one last time...Just so she could see his aggressive yet passionate and heart-warming face...Just so she could mouth those words she never had the chance to say to him. But her mouth – as did the rest of her body, soon become frozen in the eternal slumber of death's blizzard.

"TATSUKI!" Hisagi tried to rush over to his fallen comrade but a wall of Arrancar blocked his path. "DAMN YOU BASTARDS!" Shuhei continued reaping his scythes into the enemy, frustrated that some would fall to his blades easily enough while others dodged, Sonidoed or counterattacked with their longer vectors. "DAMMIT LET ME THROUGH!"

"Tatsuki!" Karin could be seen riding over to where the mighty flame-warrior had fallen. She slashed into one Diclonii before another one sliced the legs off her horse sending her violently falling onto the ground.

"KARIN GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Hisagi continued trying to reach her but was still being held back by a dozen more Arrancar.

"Don't worry Tatsuki I'll avenge you!" Karin slashed her sword across the Arrancar's torso, sending another weaker one back to the underworld. But it only required one stronger Arrancar to prove to be too much of a challenge for Ichigo's aggressive young sister.

"KARIN-CHAN!" Yuzu rushed over with the other healers. Karin gave a weak and bloody smile as she was thrown towards her younger twin sister. "Karin please wake up! Just hang on okay!" Yuzu tried using some healing magic on her sister but it was not enough to help her. Her sister's wounds were too severe and Yuzu's newfound spiritual powers were only enough to offer a band-aid solution. "Please no!" Yuzu clutched her sister in her arms as she sobbed over her shoulder. "Karin no...You can't die...You just can't die!"

"I can still save her..." Ren had joined the battle now as she stood over the distraught Yuzu. "I know I can't save everyone in this battle, but I'll make sure we win this with as many survivors as possible."

Yuzu calmed down a little more as she let the black-haired girl proceed with her far more effective healing. Ren's healing powers from when she was previously known as Retsu Unohana had revived almost completely since the extra-dimensional space was opened. Now she could finally prove her use to those who had saved her.

_Even if I can only save one person...At least I can know my efforts were not wasted..._

But they were not out of trouble yet. The Arrancar was still advancing as the two girls tended to the injured Karin. But just before the Arrancar could kill her next prey, her upper torso was sliced off by the invisible blades of judgement.

"Nana! Mayu!"

"We'll hold them off while you heal Karin!" the two girls smiled as they charged, united into the Masked-Diclonii ranks.

…

"There aren't enough capable healers among us..." Urahara sighed as he too had begun advancing towards the main battle. "Nanao has some healing abilities but Ren is the only one who can heal effectively." Urahara looked down to his former shop assistant Ururu. "Can you carry the injured back to the headquarters for Nanao?"

"Yes Mr. Urahara." Ururu saluted her old boss as she began charging forward with the bullet speed she used to possess before the Two Worlds Impact.

_...That is of course, if anyone is still left alive after the Diclonii are done with them..._

…

"GAAAGGH!" Komamura's Bankai had its entire left side slashed from the hips to it's shoulder, the huge chunk of flesh falling off its body as Komamura suffered the exact same wounds on his own body. Number 28 had dug a huge column through this multi-storey Goliath. The giant fox man had suffered an immense blow that not even a former Captain of the Gotei 13 could recover from.

"Is this the full extent of a Shinigami Captain's power?" Number 28 observed the fox-man's tongue as it hung out of his mouth. She looked back up to her next opponent. "And will you be any better than this one?"

Shunsui looked down at his slain comrade with a melancholy expression. "Komamura, now that you've been killed I'm gonna have to avenge you too." Shunsui held out his two scimitars. "Well now I'm really gonna have to make this girl cry..."

…

"AGH!" Mayu stumbled as she barely dodged another vector attack.

"Mayu!" Nana jumped off her feet as she cut down another two Arrancar with her own invisible blades. But one of the other Masked-Diclonii had found an opening with the pink-haired girls and slashed across her stomach

"Nana!" Mayu crawled over to her friend as she writhed around the sand. The wound was quite deep and Nana was unable to use her vectors from the pain. As the Arrancar's kept advancing Mayu tried warding off the enemy by shooting some spiritual energy towards them. But unlike the weaker hollow-class mutants, these Menos-class Diclonii were easily able to swat away her energy blasts without any effort.

Kurama was finishing off a few weaker Arrancar when he finally found Nana and Mayu just a short distance away. "NANA!"

"No..." Ren could only watch on hopelessly as she continued healing Karin.

Each step Kuruma took felt like an eternity as he tried to reach his adoptive daughter. _Nana, your Papa's going to save you...Just a little longer..._

Nana and Mayu knew that this was the end. The Arrancar outnumbered the others and noone was in sight to save them this time. Mayu gave her friend a warm hug as the two of them smiled weakly, sobbing over each other's shoulder in their lasts precious moments in this world.

The invisible reaper was sweeping down. Nana caught one last glimpse of her Papa and offered him a smile before they were both cut into tiny scraps by the masked vultures.

Kurama was frozen as fleck of Nana's flesh slapped across his face and slid down his glasses. Kurama choked on his own tears as he fell to his knees and cried out to the heavens.

"NANAAAAA!"

…

Nyu and Lucy had continued their invisible skirmish for quite some time now. Nyu used her combination of vectors and swordsmanship to try and find an opening with her opponent. But Lucy seemed far more agile with her vectors as she evaded all of Nyu's attacks. Nyu slid across Lucy's position as she was about to attack her side when...

"KUUGH!" Nyu suddenly stopped when she coughed up a large amount of thick red syrup. She observed the substance in her hand. "Blood?" She shuddered as she finally realised.

The Arrancar Lucy had also began to feel sickly as she spewed up a black tar-like substance – possibly hollow's blood.

Ichigo was distracted by Nyu and Lucy's sudden bouts of bloody coughing. "What the hell's happening to them?"

Kakuzawa smiled as he drew his blade in closer against Ichigo's position. "There's not much time left, we can only save them if I fuse their souls back into one."

"No! There has to be another way...Maybe Ren can heal them." Ichigo continued defying the evil Vizard as he pushed back his his blade.

"You cannot heal the injuries inflicted upon one's soul. They're separated forms were only meant to be temporary...They won't last much longer like this."

"But if you reunite them..."

"Then I'll finally be able to create my New World, with the Hogyoku in my grasp."

Ichigo began slashing wildly at his arrogant, self-appointed god opponent. "HOW DARE YOU TRY AND USE THE HOGYOKU LIKE_ 'HIM'_!"

"But with the Hogyoku, I can fulfil my hearts desires and give birth to new life." Kakuzawa declared as he continued his maniacal ambitions. "A new world of peace, an world with no famine or suffering..**. A world full of only Diclonius Sapiens, with me as their God!**"

As Kakuzawa spread out his arms, laughing incessantly in his own twisted fantasy. Ichigo was finally able to deal the finishing blow. As he drove his blade into the man's stomach and twisted it around his abdomen. Kakuzawa chocked on his final words as blood drooled out of the corners of his mouth. "**Ughehegurhe...**" The twisted man laughed in his groggy death throes. "**Lucy...You can still become a Goddess for me won't you?**"

"You were actually a lot weaker than Aizen, how could you ever have hoped to become a God?" Ichigo pushed his foot against the former scientist's chest as he pulled out his sword.

…

"LORD KAKUZAWA!" Number 28 sensed the immense drop in her master's spiritual pressure. "I'M COMING!"

"_**Pink**_." Number 28's flight towards her fallen King was sliced as she felt a blade slash down the back of her exposed scalp. The masked Diclonius let out a shrill scream of immense pain as she fell a hundred metres to the ground...her second chance at life well and truly over.

Shunsui's blades returned to their sealed forms as he put them back in their sheaths. With his pink kimono still draped around his body, Shunsui turned back to the main battle below. "Sorry kid, but I guess it's game over now..."

"BANKAI! SENBONZAKURA KAGEYOSHI!" With the Masked Arrancar briefly confused at their King's demise, Byakuya took the chance to clean up the remaining few Arrancars in one swift blow. As thousands of tiny cherry blossom like blades cast over the Diclonii, even with their vectors, they couldn't stop the full force of the fatal cherry blossom blades as many more were left with their flesh and bone tattered.

"SCREAM BENIHIME!" Urahara sent a huge ridge of blood red energy towards another column of the remaining Diclonii some were ripped cleanly in two, whilst others lost chunks of their skull and limbs in the clog-wearing swordsman's attacks.

"What's happening? The battle seems to have turned in our favour again." Ren had finally managed to stabilise Karin and moving onto Hisagi who had recently suffered a wound across his stomach. "Come on everyone, we're almost there!"

...

"Kaede!" Ichigo tried waking up his wife as the brunette weakly opened her eyes.

"Ichigo...Look at all the trouble you've caused for my sake now..." Kaede smiled softly as she rubbed a hand against Ichigo's cheek.

"Yeah, I've caused quite a raucous, now let's go back home...Everyone's waiting for us..." Ichigo tried to laugh through his sadness.

Kaede hacked up more blood as she began moaning softly. "Ohh Ichigo...I'm just happy that the children can now see a brighter future ahead of them..."

"Of course...And Nyu and the two of us will be able to see this world flourish again." Ichigo wiped back more tears as they came pouring down his battle scarred face."

The life began to dim from Kaede's eyes as she gazed into her beloveds eyes. "I'm just so very tired...I think I need to rest for a little while now."

"Yes just a little rest, that's all right?" Ichigo nodded repeatedly, trying to deny the reality of her fate.

"Yes Ichigo, just a little...rest..." Kaede's gentle face became much more peaceful as her eyes closed and her face relaxed. Ichigo could feel her body becoming lighter as she began fading from his arms.

"Noo..." Ichugo continued clutching her body as she began dissolving into the eternal particles. "You said you'd only sleep for a little while...Why did you have to lie to me? WHY!"

"Dad..." Ichigo turned to his daughter Nyu and noticed the Masked-Diclonii Lucy was right next to her.

"Nyu?"

"Dad...I don't think you need to worry about Mum or me anymore...I think I finally understand it now..." Nyu's words were a surprise to the orange haired young man.

"Nyu...What are you saying...Don't tell me you..."

And as her feet began dissolving into blue reishi and her hands shrank into nothingness, Nyu offered her father a warm smile of comfort. "I finally realise what my purpose in life was..." And as Nyu began fading out of existence Ichigo tried to grab her and hold her tightly as well.

"NO NYU Please not you too! Without you and your Mother, what do I have left?"

Nyu gazed down at her father with the innocent smile of a child. Nyu had finally found her smile even after living through so much pain and hardship in this barren world. To see her smile like that made it even more heartbreaking for Ichigo when she conveyed her last message. "You have many people left to protect...You have to protect those kids who are gonna see the plants and animals again aren't you?"

"NYU!" Ichigo crawled to his knees as he tried to grab hold of one last sliver of his daughter, but even her white locks faded into blue specks right before her two horns finally disappeared, carried away with the rest of her existence.

"Goodbye Dad...I always loved you." Nyu's final words carried across the sky much like the clouds as they began parting to reveal the first glimpses of sunlight.

"Goodbye, my dearest Ichigo..." Kaede's final words cast away into the sky much like the rest of her entire body.

Ichigo had lost the most precious thing he had tried so hard to protect...His own family - his only daughter...Was gone...

All that remained was one lowly pink-haired angel...

"Lucy...Are you going to disappear too?"

Lucy took one step forward as the masked girl placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. She could have killed him at any point now, the fire in Ichigo's spirit had well and truly been extinguished at that point. But Ichigo was shocked to find tiny raindrops faling on his hand. He gazed back up at the Lucy as he noticed the clear liquid pouring out of the four tiny holes in her mask.

"Lucy..." Ichigo was shocked to see the heartless Diclonii suddenly appearing to show some emotion, let alone sobbing like this.

A cool breeze swept over the two of them as the mask which bound Lucy's soul began peeing away with the wind. Slowly a face from Ichigo's past was revealed. A face of sadness, a face of sorrow...

...And as the mask broke free from her and her hair came rolling down her shoulders and the dark void in her chest was finally whole again, Ichigo knew that this was the girl he had met on that fateful day...The Pink-haired angel who had fallen from the sky and had changed his life forever...

Ichigo held his hands on her shoulders as he breathed those words he was longing to say for a long time. "Welcome back...Lucy..."

…

* * *

TEN YEARS LATER:

"Timmy, stop being a hog and give us the ball!" A small group of children began chasing after one another in the open fields. One young woman couldn't help but laugh whenever she saw the children playing with such innocence and glee.

Ren was sitting by the verandah of her wooden hut, enjoying the refuge from the summer's heat. As she had grown older, her long black locks had grown out, and she began to look more like her former self. "Kaede was right, we were able to finally see the earth restore itself...And its flourishing more beautifully than ever before..."

"Enjoying the shade Ren?" Ren noticed Karin and Hisagi walking past with their tiny toddler hanging by each parent's arm. "You should come out and enjoy the sun."

"Hehe, I will eventually..." Ren laughed off. "I'm just enjoying the view for a while longer."

Karin sighed as she turned back to her husband. "Well, we better meet up with Yuzu before she has another fit and throws away the lunch again."

"Yeah, well said." Hisagi scratched his nose as recalled the past times they had tried to have lunch with Karin's stern young sister. He looked down at their daughter, who had the spiky black hair of her father and the eyes of her mother. "Come on little Tatsuki, let's go have some lunch."

"YAY!" The bubbly little toddler cheered as she swung in her parent's arms.

_It's good to see new life return to this world..._Ren rested back in her chair as she dreamt of more good fortune to come to this land of vitality.

…

"Hey maybe after we have lunch at my sisters we can go and see how old Mr Hat-n-Clogs is doing?"

"Oh anything but that thanks..." Hisagi face-palmed. "That wierd lady with the ponytail and glasses freaks me out...I feel sorry for Kuruma now that he has to work for them in their new shop."

"Yeah, but it keeps him busy..." Karin averted her gaze as she recalled the tragic losses in that final battle. "It's the only way you can avoid drowning yourself in constant grief..."

"Hmm..." Hisagi tried to change the topic to a more lighter one. "Well perhaps we can pop by Shunsui's for a drink of sake again."

"Yeah and remember what happened last time you had _a drink_ with him." Karin gave her husband an elbow to his side.

"It'll be fine, Nanao usually keeps him in line these days anyway."

As they reached Yuzu's hut the blonde came out with a large wooden spoon and her hands on her waists. "Geez Karin, you're always running late, Byakuya and Ururu have been waiting for ages."

"Sorry sis'." Karin grinned nervously as she tried excusing herself again.

Yuzu puffed out her cheeks, even in her 20s, she still used the childish expression when she was angry. "Why I should get Ichigo to have a word with you one day sis'"

"Yeah..." Karin rolled her eyes as she began looking back towards the grassy horizon. "But I hardly see him these days...I really don't know what he's up to."

Yuzu also frowned when she thought of her brother. "I *sniff* miss him *sniff* so much." Yuzu began bawling quite childishly for her age again as her older sister had to cheer her back up again like she always did.

"C'mon Yuzu you're acting like he's not ever gonna come back...His work just takes a lot of time out of his day that's all..." Karin brushed through he sister's hair to try and cheer her up.

"Unn..." Yuzu let out a strange noise through her sobs. "Well, I guess you're hungry now." Yuzu wiped away the last of her tears as she invited the guests inside.

Karin picked up her daughter and nursed her in her arms as she began thinking about her brother. _How can you make her cry Ichi-nii...You better come say hello to Yuzu one time you big meanie..._

…

MEANWHILE:

"**GRAOOWW!**" A masked beast echoed its roar across the grassy plain as a large blade cut across its body. As the blade tore it in two, the beast finally dissolved into black dust as the purification was complete.

"Geez, I guess we can never get a break from these damn hollows..." A man in black robes wrapped some bandages around his large sword.

"Well while there's life there'll always be death..." A woman with lustrous pink hair responded as she stood before another hollow, she didn't appear to do anything to the beast but the hollow was soon cut into several large pieces before it too was purified.

"That's quite a morbid way to put it." The orange haired man regarded his partner's words.

"Well it's just the cold hard truth..." The pink haired woman retorted quite cheekily. "Unless you didn't want any life to exist in the first place then we just have to maintain the balance as best we can."

As a couple more hollow began rising to the surface, the fiery haired man gazed at the lush wilderness beyond the horizon. _'If there's life there's always death' eh? Well I can live with that..._

Ichigo turned back to his pink-haired horned angel and gave the typical grin of an overconfident teenager. "Let's get 'em...Lucy!"

* * *

[Sob] [Sob] [Blows nose] Oh and this my fanfic readers is how it all ends...The Two Worlds Trilogy – the story which started my whole fanfic career more than 2 years ago has finally reached its end...It has been a long and exciting journey for all the characters and has been great fun for me to write the entire three story series. This one did take much longer than it should have and the low hit count was quite demotivating at times, but I knew I had to finish this one and I'm glad I eventually got round to it. 

To those few readers who have in fact followed this story from its roots all the way to the end I thank you greatly for supporting this story. It's all about you guys in the end of the day, there's no story without its readers so you deserve at least half the credit for this epic series. I do hope some of you will take the time to leave a small review now that it's the end. What did you think about the ending? Or what did you think of the third story compared to the first two? Or perhaps you'd like to give an all round view for the entire series in general. Your input is always very useful and will help me decide on my future project in the future.

As for the Two Worlds Trilogy, this is the absolute end...There are no more sequels. But I have been considering at some point in the future going back and doing a revised addition of all three stories in one compilation. But for now it's goodbye to the Two Worlds Trilogy and thanks once again to everyone who's read, reviewed, favourited or followed my story...

**DAS ENDE**


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